Nutcracker 2016 is officially in the books! Two performances (Saturday evening and Sunday matinee), two school performances (Friday morning at 930 and another at 1130), four nights of rehearsals on the big stage and two months of studio rehearsals. . .
The shows went really well. Our Party Scene was great and I really enjoyed being back on stage! My costume was yooooge, as you can see from the pictures! After our first full dress rehearsal I realized that I either needed to wear character shoes (I was wearing low, lace up jazz oxfords), or needed a bustle. Since my dance partner is only a couple inches taller than I am we decided I needed to hit up the costume ladies for a bustle. It helped a lot!
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| My favorite maid in the show! She's an amazing little ballerina! |
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| My character's "rival" for the attention of Drosselmeyer! She's a local news anchor and is SUPER sweet! |
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| My beautiful Toy Soldier! So, after not dancing since the Clinton administration, I did fairly well. Our dances weren't too hard. Sunshine was fantastic as a Toy Soldier in the Party Scene and I'd be lyinv if I said it wasn't special to have been on stage with her! It's not something I ever imagined would happen! She did really well as a Toy Soldier, Battle Soldier (the Battle Scene was AMAZING!), and a Russian in the second act. She had some quick changes and gained experience in having someone dress you and fix your hair for you in the wings. Something she'll need as she moves up. Tuesday's rehearsal was very emotional for me as it was the 6 month anniversary of her surgery. I will never forget that gut punch feeling when her doctor told us she'd need surgery to repair her fracture and his assurance that she would be ready to dance in September. She's still not at 100% but she has come so far. We're hopeful that the next 6 months brings more strength in her foot/ankle and that she's able to move up to pointe next year. She's got a lot of hard work ahead of her! |
