Nuts on Parade

Oh, the weather outside was frightful, as it was 39º F with light drizzle and a breeze on Saturday morning. Brrrr! The chilly, damp weather didn't stop a group of beautiful ballerinas from parading down the streets of Big D. Are these dancers nuts? No, but they are part of the cast of Nutcracker! There is a nut in there somewhere, I am sure.

North Central Ballet had the opportunity to "march" in the annual Children's Medical Center Holiday Parade in downtown Dallas alongside a young ballerina, Rachel Herrera, who was of the Grand Marshals of the parade.

In November 2010, Herrera had a stroke while at ballet class. She is still recovering, and is not able to resume dancing at this time. (See her story here: Herrera) Rachel, who is now 14, had danced in a production of the Nutcracker every Christmas season since she was a small child. This year she was given the role of Clara for the parade. Of course, being Clara is a dream role for every young ballerina. And being a Grand Marshal for a big time parade is pretty cool, too! To top it off, Clara got to roll along the route in a vintage Rolls Royce -- even cooler, especially since it was a convertible.

"Our" ballerina girls did not know Rachel until they were asked to participate in this annual event. They were blessed by getting to know this remarkable young lady.

Nutcracker was the biggest balloon in the parade, measuring in at 45' tall. It took a team of twenty-five people to handle the big guy.

Grand Marshal "Clara" and the Sugar Plum Fairy

We learned that this Christmas parade is a pretty big deal.  A couple hundred thousand spectators line the parade route. Through national syndication at varying times in December, the parade will be broadcast to more than one hundred million homes across the country in markets that include New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Boston and Atlanta. (Broadcast Schedule)


We opted to stay at home and watch the parade from the comfort of our family room to catch a glimpse of our favorite Arabian smiling and waving. I think the smiles were frozen on the girls' faces.

Love the shoes!

After a brief photo shoot with Ian Kinsler, second baseman for the Texas Rangers, and a quick meet & greet with Miss Texas (What a social calendar!), these dancers were off to the Will Rogers Auditorium in Ft. Worth for their third performance of N-cracker.  

Hang tight, dear INOKWACA followers, there will definitely be a blog entry with show pictures coming up just as fast as I can type in all of the details. ;-)