Shall We Dance?

We're more than halfway through recital week and there have been moments of hilarity, moments of anxiety and moments of happiness. Lots of them. The teachers do a little dance in the show. We're all part of a giant dragon who is vanquished by a prince in Sleeping Beauty. I'm in the middle, so I'm probably the liver of the dragon. It is so much fun to be a dancer/puppeteer and to create a moment with the other teachers that the audience likes. At the end, I always feel sorry for the dragon. After all, I AM his liver. And he's such a cute and brave dragon, and he made such funny fighting and dying noises in rehearsal. Last night, as we writhed and fell and the dragon put his big, crepe-paper head down to die, I huddled with the teachers under the dragon body, made of sheer fabric. One teacher's feet were right in my face, and the bottoms of them were covered in glitter. Somebody had their head on my derriere, poor woman! I thought to myself, even in that cramped and unglamorous state, "How did I get so lucky?" I am lucky to teach with such remarkable women, such beautiful dancers, so many of whom have had a profound and positive influence on my daughters. There will be more moments of sublime clarity, craziness and beauty before this week is over. So let's dance.

Backstage right before Leopardfish.  I got a smile out of Xanthe, who was worried sick.

I had to capture Xanthe's nervous little face before she went onstage.  Because she is the shortest one, she is the leader and has to go onstage first, leading everyone around the silk sheers that hang from the ceiling in a configuration that is new to her.  She has been terrified.  She takes a new route every time, and they're all good, but her teacher and her chaperones keep giving her instructions!  She gets more and more panicked every time it's explained to her and starts forgetting what "in front of" and "around" mean.  She is a basketcase!  I tell her to do whatever she wants, and she is darling every time.  Love you, Xanth!

Araceli was in Village Girls for ballet and Straw for modern.

Allison and Kara, the best chaperones in the whole world!

Sara, Golda and Alexis, some of the RATS!

Emma and Ari, some of our favorite Village Girls

I think I smell a rat!

Ari also had orchestra and fiddling class at Weber this week (it goes for three weeks).  One day, she went to orchestra in her Village costume and fiddling in her straw costume, with staging in between.  The timing was perfect!