I am talking about the Land of the Sweets in which Clara visits during the second Act of the Nutcracker. My first time ever seeing this Christmas time ballet was with Anna last year in Ohio. From that moment on, all she ever talked about when it came to ballet was performing in the Nutcracker sometime...being one of those kids on stage. Upon our move to Virginia, we became very blessed to stumble upon a ballet school associated with a real ballet company that puts on a professional performance of the Nutcracker. Anna went through the auditions and a little girl's dream came true when she was selected to be a "bon bon" to come out of Mother Ginger's skirt in the Land of the Sweets. It was many many hours of practice, a week of late night dress rehearsals, 7 performances over 2 weekends, learning how to do make-up and real ballet buns, confrontations with "dance moms", hours of volunteering, but is was all worth it to see her light up during her 5 minutes on stage. Here are some clips of my sweet bon bon (honestly I don't even know what a bon bon is!)...
Being silly with her cast mates. These girls truly built a camaraderie that I look forward to seeing continue in our time with the ballet school/company.
The gang before heading on stage for their last performance.
Anna and "Clara".
One of Anna's most cherished possessions is an autographed point shoe signed by Clara that she actually wore. Anna is dreaming of the day she earns point shoes and hopes to be "Clara" in the Nutcracker some day.
Anna and the Sugar Plum Fairy. The girls were in absolute awe of her.
Anna signing an autograph :)
The best bon bon ever! She cried the whole way home after the cast party last night. She was so sad it was over. I guess we will be doing it again next year! Great job Anna! We are so proud of you and happy to share the joy of this experience with you.
Oh my goodness! This is so awesome! And you did such an amazing job with her make-up and hair that I didn't even recognize her in the group picture!! Great job but don't you go turning into one of those "dance moms".
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