The Measure of My Days: Nutcracker Fantasy

We survived our first Nutcracker Fantasy! What a weekend. Emma participated in her local dance studio' s, Stepping Out, Nutcracker Fantasy this year as a mouse. It was our first experience with on-going practices, rehearsals, dress rehearsals, and finally multiple stage performances. Four performances to be exact - Friday night, Saturday afternoon and evening, and then Sunday afternoon.

We had taken the kids to see the Nutcracker Fantasy two years ago (they only put it on every two years), and they had enjoyed it back then. That was a year before Emma started dance, so it wasn't very hard to figure out where I wanted to send her for dance lessons the next year.

The studio (and of course the students performing from the studio) do such a great job with it and they really put in so much time and effort. And I personally am always impressed with how talented these little girls are. So many of them dance in multiple scenes, sometimes 5-7 different dances, and have multiple costume changes. Top that off with the fact that they have been running the performance in completion (between full rehearsals and the actual live performances) for a week, and you realize how hard these girls have been working. They have got to be so wiped out after this weekend!

And Emma was only in one dance this year and we were wiped out! I can't wait until 2011 - I'll have another mouse on my hands (Avery) and I will have another (Emma) in probably three dances...and three costume changes...and three reapplications of make-up...and three shoe changes...and three hair accessory changes...WOW! Can't wait!!!

Grandma and Grandpa O'Brien and Papa and Nana Hawkins joined us for the Saturday afternoon performance which was so nice and Emma really loved having them here to see her perform.

The kids seemed to enjoy watching the performance and Ryan made out with a new play Nutcracker sword (he loves nutcrackers!) and Avery enjoyed snacking during intermission.