See, I performed in The Nutcracker Ballet for the Dance Theater of Fayetteville for something like five years straight. I cannot hear the opening strains of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite without pointing my toes or fighting the urge to whip out a couple tour jetes across the kitchen floor.
So, you can imagine how excited I have been to share my love for this ballet with Molly and Charlotte. The problem was, I wasn't sure how well they would be able to handle sitting through an entire 2-hour performance. I knew I would be entranced by the beauty and dancing, but a 2- and 5-year-old? No guarantees that would turn out well.
Then, I came across this ad for a Nutcracker Ballet Tea Party thrown by the Arts and Recreation Foundation of Overland Park and Friends of Overland Park Arts. It was a shortened version of the ballet, performed by ballet students, aimed at children, and complete with an actual tea party. Problem solved!
The girls love playing tea party, and I could test out how they would do with a shortened performance. I convinced a couple other moms of girls that they should do it too, so we filled up a table in no time.
I have never been so proud of how well-behaved my girls acted. I'm not going to pretend that they are angels, and regular readers know that isn't the case, but on this day, they were fabulous. We got all dressed up for the big event. It was an excuse to wear their holiday dresses another time. The ballroom was beautifully decorated, and the girls sat in their seats and couldn't get over the excitement of it all. I'm pretty sure both my girls ate about four cookies a piece, but since it was a special occasion, I didn't worry about it.
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| Melese, Avery and Molly checking out the spread. |
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| Of course, Charlotte's mouth if full of cookie. |
