First Taste of the Performing Arts

Meeting the Blue Fairy

Last Sunday afternoon our little princess visited a new world - the land of fairies and make believe. She witnessed her first live ballet performance in Seattle. As if, getting dressed up like a princess wasn't enough excitement, this was over the top, fabulous!

Grasping the hand of my childhood friend DiAnna (who works for Pacific Northwest Ballet, and who supplied the tickets) we entered the stage door and into a room full of dancers. Crossing that threshold into this room - lead us straight into another world already in progress, leaving Devi star struck and speechless! The room was a chaotic blur of bright colors of every shade, as all were in various stages of readying their costumes, applying make up and stretching in preparation for the show.

First stop - make up. Plopped up onto the make up table, Devi held perfectly still as DiAnna carefully dusted her cheeks with real blusher, otherwise known as fairy dust. Mingling with the sets on stage, Devi got to sit at Jepedo's work bench and take a bow center stage. Our final stop before taking our seats, was a visit with the mystical Blue Fairy who was so sweet to take time with our awestruck Devi giving her a hug and kiss before floating away.

Poised on my lap, Devi took in every inch of the theater and the people filling it to near capacity. Finally, the lights began their slow descent and the crowd quieted preparing for the the curtain to raise. In that final quiet moment before the music began, Devi loudly asked, "Are we in church?" which brought giggles and snorts from the adults sitting around us. I must admit it was pretty funny :)

Never at a loss for words, she inquisitively asked over and over, "What is Pinocchio doing, mommy?" If it wasn't Pinocchio, it was another of the many characters... "What is ______doing, mommy?" Insert any character, piece of the set or object and I'm sure we heard it about 10 times!!! There was a lot of shhhhes going on :) but she managed to endear the hour long performance with one small, "I have to go potty" break.

Most of the performance was spent bouncing in my lap to the rhythm of the music. I knew Devi was in her element, enjoying this new experience immensely. Several times during the show, she would pause from moving with the tempo to look back at Pat and I to share a moment. In the darkness all that was recognizable was the pearly white glow of her huge smile grinning up at us. A motherhood moment - this vision of our sweet little girl connecting with something that brings her joy is a scene I hope never fades from my memory. What a fun fun day...thanks DiAnna!!

Waving Hello through the magic mirror

Thanks DiAnna!!!