National Ballet of Canada's Nutcracker

I had my last Nutcracker performance on Thursday, January 2nd. It was good. Everything went well.

I really wanted to see the whole ballet so I asked my Mom to take me on a different day instead of coming to see me. When we perform and then go to the show we don't get to see the story time and we miss the first half of the show.

On Friday, January 3rd, I got to see the National Ballet of Canada's Nutcracker with my Mom, my Aunts and most of my cousins! It was a huge group of us. We gave them tickets for Christmas. We were in the 'nosebleed' section so the tickets were more affordable.

We went to the story time before the show. They explained what happens in the ballet and they even told us what the dancers will do and how there will be an intermission.

It was my cousins' first time being to the ballet and I was happy to be there with them.

Nathan Brock conducted the orchestra.

According to the program these were some of the people who danced on Friday.

Peter, a stable boy - McGee Maddox
Marie - Saige Palleske
Misha (Marie's brother) - Gabriel Buell
Baba - Krista Dowson
Uncle Nickolai - James Leja

The Nutcracker - McGee Maddox
Snow Queen and her Icicles - Tanya Howard, Keiichi Hirano and Naoya Ebe
The Sugar Plum Fairy - Elena Lobsanova
Empress Dowager Baba - Krista Dowson
Grand Duke Nickolai - James Leja

A Sheep - Andreea Olteanu
A Fox - Dylan Tedaldi
A Bee - Jenna Savella

Where we were sitting it was hard to see the expressions on the dancers' faces but you could see the stage and you could see the different shapes and patterns that the dancers make. I liked seeing them going from lines to circles and how quickly they were able to get into their formations.

I liked seeing the different families enter the barn and I loved seeing the grandparents dance. I loved seeing the march!

The waltz of the snowflakes was magical. The way the light hit the paper to make it look like snowflakes falling on the dancers with their tiaras was absolutely beautiful.

The Pas De Deux with the Nutcracker and the Sugar Plum Fairy was amazing.

Of course, the music makes all the difference. It wouldn't have been the same without the wonderful orchestra. Even though they rotate the dancers, the orchestra plays for all the shows.

The whole evening was fun and we went out for something to eat afterwards.

One day I'd love to see a ballet with my cousin Nicky who lives in Florida. Hopefully it will happen soon.

Nutcracker 2013 - 2014

I'm in the National Ballet of Canada's Nutcracker again this year!
(Here's a link to my blog post about my first performance last season.)

This year I'm one of the Head Mice.

Yesterday, our parents got to see us rehearse. It was so cool!
It's always more fun when you have an audience!

Here's a picture of me in the rehearsal.
Of course, in the performance I'll be wearing a costume.

Even though this picture is blurry, I like it. My foot is moving so fast you can't even see it!

I got to take a picture with Miss Toto. She makes us practice a lot and it's always fun with her. She's really patient but she's strict too!

Here's a preview of the Nutcracker on the National Ballet of Canada's youtube channel.

The Nutcracker will run from December 14, 2013 to January 4, 2014

I will be performing on:

• Sunday, December 15th at 5:30pm
• Monday, December 23rd at 1:00pm
• Thursday, January 2nd at 7:00pm

(My performance dates are 'subject to change'.)

You can buy tickets online on the National Ballet of Canada's website:
http://national.ballet.ca/

I can't wait to see you there!