It really all started last spring when I watched a documentary on Russian Ballerinas. Cecily watched part of it with me, asked a few questions and then went on her merry way. Then a few months later she asked to watch the ballerina movie that mommy watched instead of Barney. Then she was hooked. She watched that documentary from start to finish-- even though most of the talking was in French or Russian. But she loved seeing the dancing and the costumes.
Since this had struck her fancy I checked out some more ballet movies from the library. One of our favorites was one that had great scenes from a variety of ballets. She really picked up on the emotions of the dancers. I would sit with her and tell her the story of the dance and she would start talking and interacting with them. In the balcony scene for Romeo and Juliet I told her that Juliet was saying that she needed to go to bed now, but Romeo wanted her to stay up and dance some more. To which she replied, "Did Juliet set the timer?"
Well, sooner then later it dawned on me. The nutcracker is the perfect ballet for children, so many colors not to mention children dancing! And so it began. Pretty soon she was asking for a Nutcracker of her own (I am bracing myself for the day she asks for a kitty, I doubt her daddy will be able to refuse her that!). I told her that Nanny and Poppy had one in their Christmas decorations. Nanny and Poppy did one better, they bought her a Nutcracker of her own. Her Nutcracker is probably her most favorite toy!
We naturally wanted to take her to the ballet. But we were having trouble finding one that didn't start at her bedtime, or wasn't super expensive (she's only two and a half, she might not have made it through the whole thing!). Finally we decided to wait until next year... until Nanny found the Nutcracker Tea. It was a special tea party where you got to meet the Characters from the Nutcracker and get your picture taken with Clara. We were all very excited! Until.... Nanny got the Swine Flu! So Poppy had to take Cecily in her place (dad and I felt more than a little guilty when the ballerinas came walking in and Cecily's face lit up and she started waving). Actually, Cecily was very unsure about the whole thing until she saw that the Mouse King was not invited to the tea party. This is definitely something we would like to do next year, and then actually go see the ballet after wards! Precious memories!
Cessy with her Poppy and complimentary tea mug!
Cecily went down the line of dancers and showed them all her Nutcracker.
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