Small Town has a small dance school on the second floor of an old building on Main Street. There is a flower shop below named Blossoms that has painted its outside yellow with a lovely awning, and there used to be a pool hall next door that has gone out of business. Since I didn't open a cheesecake shop in my friend's old yarn shop, maybe I can start fantasizing about opening one next door to Blossoms.
Anyway, every year about this time, the dance school performs The Nutcracker in The Little Theater, but they have now moved their production to the auditorium of a local college. It has become a tradition for Daughter No. 2 and I to go to the ballet, and we went just a few days ago. It was lovely as always. Clara was played by No. 2's friend, and the girl was perfect. I lifted this picture from Small Town's newspaper, and it shows another girl playing Clara during a different performance (they take turns), but the idea is the same.
Two days later, my orchestra performed its annual Christmas concert. We played with a children's chorus made of 80 or 85 local kids, and we played with a gospel singing group just for something different.
Santa always shows up before the last song and tells extremely corny jokes and passes out candy canes to all the little kids. For a couple of years, he brought an elf girl along, and honestly, it was a little creepy. We were all a bit relieved when he appeared alone this year even though his jokes were just as bad.
The highlight was our performance of a new piece composed by our conductor that was to feature an antiphonal brass choir, and we rehearsed it well on Saturday afternoon. Because we were in the midst of a winter storm watch and tons of falling snow and icy roads and performers who showed up late, the piece was simplified to keep us all on stage for the evening's performance. It worked, but it would have been interesting to perform it as it was intended. Maybe next year. Another highlight, I didn't shy away from a high B that finished off a rousing Jingle Bells arrangement, and I hit it. It made me grin.
I'd say Small Town really knows how to celebrate Christmas as a community.
Anyway, every year about this time, the dance school performs The Nutcracker in The Little Theater, but they have now moved their production to the auditorium of a local college. It has become a tradition for Daughter No. 2 and I to go to the ballet, and we went just a few days ago. It was lovely as always. Clara was played by No. 2's friend, and the girl was perfect. I lifted this picture from Small Town's newspaper, and it shows another girl playing Clara during a different performance (they take turns), but the idea is the same.Two days later, my orchestra performed its annual Christmas concert. We played with a children's chorus made of 80 or 85 local kids, and we played with a gospel singing group just for something different.
Santa always shows up before the last song and tells extremely corny jokes and passes out candy canes to all the little kids. For a couple of years, he brought an elf girl along, and honestly, it was a little creepy. We were all a bit relieved when he appeared alone this year even though his jokes were just as bad.
The highlight was our performance of a new piece composed by our conductor that was to feature an antiphonal brass choir, and we rehearsed it well on Saturday afternoon. Because we were in the midst of a winter storm watch and tons of falling snow and icy roads and performers who showed up late, the piece was simplified to keep us all on stage for the evening's performance. It worked, but it would have been interesting to perform it as it was intended. Maybe next year. Another highlight, I didn't shy away from a high B that finished off a rousing Jingle Bells arrangement, and I hit it. It made me grin.
I'd say Small Town really knows how to celebrate Christmas as a community.
Comments
I hope you get the chance to perform the antiphonal piece soon.
The costumes in the ballet are splendid. I wonder if the chap on the left is laughing at one of Santa's corny jokes?
As for the elf girl; I would imagine Mrs. Christmas sent her packing.