Saturday, November 20, 2010

The Snow Maiden Ballet



Last week, we were fortunate to take my granddaughter, Caroline to see my husband's
granddaughter perform in the The University of Akron Dance Institute's "The Snow Maiden" ballet at E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall.


What a beautiful production in a beautiful facility!



It is a Russian fable of a child of snow who is brought to life by the warmth of human love.
The delightful family ballet featured 94 performers, ages 5 to 18.

My husband's granddaughter was one of the many young children in the cast.

She is just turning 10 TODAY (Happy Birthday, A!)

She did a fabulous job...never missed a single step!




I'm sorry I didn't capture any photos of her in costumes...she had several.

She barely had time to run home for a bite to eat &

rest a little before another evening performance!

Caroline was enthralled throughout the entire program &

she gave her a big flower bouquet after her performance.


She even wore her sparkly ballet slippers for the occasion.

She takes dance lessons & will tell you she's going to be a ballerina when she grows up.


We were both thrilled to find this dress still fit her &

I will move the buttons over for more wearings in the Spring, too.


According to Caroline, it is "my bestest, most favorite dress EVER" that I've made for her.



It is "Coco" by Connie Moses which was featured in Australian Smocking & Embroidery.
( issue #85)


My hands ached for weeks after finishing the smocking on this brown twill with thick, solid dots!
With BROWN FLOSS, no less!!! A true labor of love!




Thanks for stopping by the Gazebo House.

Since we're going away for the holiday, I will have photos of my friend's

beautiful Thanksgiving table to show you soon.

fondly,
Photobucket

23 comments:

  1. Rett-This ballet sounds beautiful and sounds a little like a C. S. Lewis tale! The dress (and granddaughter from what I can see :) are both beautiful. I am dying to learn to smock. Any suggestion on where I might learn?

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  2. ps-I checked out the other link. I was right Caroline and dress are beautiful

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  3. Hi Rett! So nice that you expose Caroline to cultural stuff and to see someone perform that she knows. She is so pretty in that adorable dress. DH went to medical school at UofM and we try to go there once a year to watch football. He would be a lot older than your son in law for sure.Go Blue!...Christine

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  4. Caroline looks so sweet in that beautiful dress. No wonder it's her favorite!
    When my daughter was young we never missed a Nutcracker performance. We'd see the ballet and then go to tea - lovely memories.

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  5. Oh Rett....you brought back such wonderful memories for me. When my girls were young, we always went to The Nutcracker. Thank you for visiting my blog and those kind words. I will share them with my husband!

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  6. Can you believe I have never been to the ballet?! It would definitely be culture shock for me, but I'd love to see The Nutcracker someday.

    The dress and Caroline look gorgeous...she looks like she really loves to dance in it!!

    Happy Weekend, Rett!

    XO,
    Jane

    XO,
    Jane

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  7. Hi Rett, What an uplifting post. I think it's wonderful your little granddaughter is into ballet. Oh my goodness!!!!! Her dress is out of this world gorgeous! Lucky for you AND her that you have a granddaughter to use your fabulous skills. My little grandsons would not appreciate smocking! Plus I would have to learn. Thank you for sharing with us.

    Donna

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  8. Rett, I can see why this is the "bestest most favorite EVER" dress. You are so talented and generous with your stitching projects. I smile every time I see a piece of your work, and it's made even better to see Miss C excited about her special outfits. Wonderful that she appreciates these works of art. I hope you keep them once she outgrows them.
    The ballet performance looks to be a special occasion. Love the story of the snow maiden! ~ Sarah

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  9. Caroline is just gorgeous in her brown and pink. The ballet performance sounded just fabulous. She will treasure these "trips" with you forever. You are just the best grandma!

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  10. I know she had a wonderful time! There is something so special about a ballet performance. My mother took me every year to see the Nutcracker and I started the tradition with Jemma last year. She was enchanted as I know C was! Wonderful!

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  11. Oh what fun and how wonderful that your granddaughter wants to be a ballerina! The dress is beautiful as well as the slippers. To this day I still love ballet (I continued lessons until I was 47). What a wonderful way to begin the holiday season.

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  12. HI RETT!!
    What a lovely experience to see. The ballet does sound a bit like something C.S. Lewis would have written. I love the narnia tales. Caroline is a lucky little girl to have a grandma who loves her so much and makes her so many beautiful dresses to twirl about in!!!I loved that dress. I think that ballet would be amazing to see, and tell your little grand daughter of your hubbies --Congrats and happy Birthday!!
    hugs,
    jamie

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  13. Another marvelous post, my dear! I'm so happy you got to see the ballet and everything went well. Caroline, as always is a doll and looks so cute in that awesome dress. You must be proud! (As you should be!!)

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  14. Rett, the ballet was a memory making event for you and young Caroline. Congrats to your "A"! My daughter danced for years and was in the Nutcracker for 6 years in a row when she was little. Encourage Caroline... it is something my daughter looks back on with such delight.

    Caroline looks just beautiful in her favorite dress. It was certainly worth all your labor... she looks just lovely! And so are her shoes! ADORABLE!
    xo Yvonne

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  15. Caroline will remember this dress, and your love in making it for her. Many (too many!) years ago, my godmother lovingly hemmed a dress for my first formal dance -- it had a wide, twirly skirt with tiny, tiny pleats, one after another after another ... a beautiful pink. She's been gone for many years but I still think of her and that labor of love.

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  16. Rett, that dress of Caroline's is stunning. No wonder its her most favorite dress. I can just imagine her excitement at attending the ballet and the fact that she knew someone in the cast must have been so exciting.

    The Dayton facility is something the city should be very proud of, its beautiful.

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  17. What a sweet granddaughter. How exciting for her to be in the ballet!!!

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  18. The ballet sounds wonderful! It's especially nice when you know someone in the production. Your granddaughters dress is absolutely beautiful. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

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  19. Rett, this is just darling, and I can see why it's Caroline's most favorite, precious dress! It's mine, too! You did a great job. And this must have been so much fun to get to see your DH's granddaughter perform in that marvelous production! Neat!

    I am hoping to blog again this week, but just in case my life spirals out of control with all the craziness, I am wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving in advance.

    Love to you and yours...

    XO,

    Sheila :-)

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  20. Rett your husband's grand daughter "A" is so fortunate to be able to perform in such a wonderful production!

    The dresses you make for your grand daughter Caroline are exquisite! I also love the red one in the prior post!

    Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

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  21. oh i loved this post, the ballet looks wonderful and such great pics you shared, just darling! popping it to wish you a very happy thanksgiving to you and your family, eat drink and be merry! ok so it sounds to xmassy, but you can still do it all now too!

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  22. Sounds like you all had a great outing.

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  23. Gorgeous dress, and how wonderful to see the ballet! I have been to Akron! I think for a basketball game when I was in college in Ohio!

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Thank you so much for leaving a comment. I read them all & each one is so very special to me & I try really hard to return the visit!

fondly,
~Rett~