Ballet Concert

I took Amy and Lena to their first full ballet today. By coincidence, it was Coppelia, my first ballet! (That I can remember, I may have seen the Nutcracker too, but I can't remember much).

It was only a local school's performance, not a professional company, but it was good enough for us. Machiko Takita was in it, but we couldn't tell which one! You never can, they make them up with so much stage make-up it's almost impossible to spot them. I only knew Amy in her ballet performance because of her crooked eyebrows!

I told them the story before we left, but I found out that a local school's ballet performance is just about the perfect thing to take kids to. There's no dialogue that you are interrupting when you explain things to them, they music is so loud you can't be heard anyway, and the audience is full not of serious and committed followers of ballet, but relatives here to watch little Yukiko dancing, so they're not bothered anyway. In fact, the lady next to me took a nap half way through.

Once home the fun continued, with Amy and Lena setting the room up as the ballet. Amy wanted to be the China doll. The two rubber horses and a fluffly dog were the three Spanish dancers, and the two dolls Maria got them for my birthday were the Bolero dolls. Lena got to be Coppelia, sitting in the book corner behind a curtain constructed out of a guitar and a towel. They both sat perfectly still, and I had to be Dr. Coppelius, and wind up China doll/Amy and pull back the curtain to check on Coppelia/Lena. We had to do it over when Daddy got home, then again on Tuesday when her friends came to visit!