Visions of Sugar Plums

Oh, Nutcracker, how we love thee... but, Sugar Plum Fairy, we love you more!!!

Our ballerina had a "plum role" for three of the five Nutcracker performances, as she got to be the SPF or Sugar Plum Fairy! She also had fun performing/acting as Mrs. Silberhaus, Clara's mother. 

Snow, Waltz of the Flowers, and Merlitons were the other roles that kept our dancer on her toes.

Practice makes perfect.

Grandpa got to go to a rehearsal to see his granddaughter dance as the SPF, since he was not going to be able to stay in town to see an actual performance. It goes without saying that he is plum proud of his girlie!

Bright and early on Saturday morning, the company girls had to be ready to parade through the streets of Dallas in the Children's Medical Center Holiday Parade. This marks the 25th year for the parade. An estimated 350,000 people lined the streets of downtown Big D -- thankfully it was a warm and sunny morning; perfect for a parade. "Our" dancers escorted a float that featured an Olympic hopeful figure skater and a patient from the hospital. And yes, we got to see our girl on television, as we were not part of the crowd along the street.

At the end of the parade route, the ballerinas were able to pose for a picture with the Texas Ranger's 2nd baseman, Ian Kinsler. The girls finagled a photo shoot both last year and this year! Ian even remembered them from last year's parade.

After the parade was over, the dancers headed from Dallas to Ft. Worth to get ready for show #4.

Over the course of four days, about 9,000 people attended the Nutcracker at the Will Rogers Memorial Auditorium in downtown Ft. Worth. I saw the show four times, and each one was magical. For some reason, I never do get tired of seeing all the hard work come together.

I snapped hundreds of photos, but I will only share a few... or a dozen, or so.

Party!

Clara and the Nutcracker Prince

Snow -- or at least 4 of the 10 flakes

 Mr. Mills and his granddaughter posed with their favorite ballerina after the show.

 We got to take Miss Claire to her first N-cracker. It was wonderful to see the show through the eyes of a "first-timer" once again. :-)

 Morgan, Claire, Millie and her friends, Makenna and Alyssa, were all smiles after the performance.

 A Merliton, the Sugar Plum, and Dew Drop

Despite the fact that the costumes and sets are all packed away until next season, I will definitely have visions of my favorite Sugar Plum dancing in my head for some time to come.