The Big Show!!!

Emma and Camri performed with the Utah Dance Arts Center…Pinocchio!! The show was incredible (again) and took my breath away.
Look at these cuties…

Grandparents came….

Yay for cousins and friends!!

Cute sisters…

Daddy loves his girls!!
Grandpa watched the kids while we were gone…Colin loved watching the game with him.

It’s time for Dance Pictures!

Camri loved having her cousin and friend in her class this year…cuties!!



How did I get to be so lucky to be their mom?  I can’t wait for the big show!!

The Big Show

The time finally came for the Big Show…”Alice in Wonderland”.  We went on opening night…Joe, me, Koko, Camri, Grandma Pulsipher, Grandma and Grandpa Heugly, Jake and Liz, Alex, and Grandma and Grandpa Ellis. 
The day was beautiful, warm and sunny.  But as I was doing Emma’s hair in a bun and putting on her makeup, we started to hear thunder.  This is Utah, right? The storm will pass.  No way it will rain on us at the outdoor amphitheater tonight, right? Wrong.
Luckily, the stage is covered so the show must go on.  And luckily, we brought blankets and umbrellas. And luckily, we sat on the last row before the walkway, so there was no one behind us and we were able to use our umbrellas. 

The show was awesome!
We weren’t allowed to take pictures of the show, so I snuck and took some pictures of the audience (and our lucky rainbow)… 
I was so proud of Emma, she danced beautifully!  The whole show was incredible, great props, gorgeous dances, and even a funny-but-wicked Queen of Hearts.  Well done, Mountain West Ballet!!
We met Sammie and Emma after the show for some fun pictures…love these girls!!

One of the perks of volunteering backstage is that I get to see the girls in costume.  Because they are borrowed, they only wear them for the performance…not before or after, it’s hard to get pictures.  So Monday night, the last show, I helped backstage and got a few photos of our girls. 











Last Cast Meeting!
The show started at 8:00 pm, so the outdoor lighting would be good. Which is all fine, except that the final show was on a Monday night, a school night.  Plus, they have testing at school this week.  Staying out until 10:00 at night was not the best way to rest up for the end-of-year testing.  So, being the devoted mother that I am, I found a way to sneak them out early.  Normally, they would have to stay for the finale, but frankly, when everyone lined up on the stage, you couldn’t even see them.  No biggie. 
We left and got ice cream sundaes instead! 
Congratulations on a wonderful performance girls!

Good Things Utah, take 2

Last December, Emma and Camri performed in the Nutcracker with Mountain West Ballet.  Emma happened to be in the small group that was invited to perform on Good Things Utah to promote the performance. 
Right now, Emma is involved in the Mountain West Ballet production of “Alice in Wonderland”.  Camri was too young to audition this time.  Anyway, Emma happened to be in the small group that was invited to perform on Good Things Utah. Again.  Lucky?  Yes.  Except this time, she missed some end-of-year testing.  Oops.  Her teacher is awesome, though, and encouraged Emma to not miss this T.V. opportunity.  She arranged a make-up test for Emma.  Super lucky?  Yes. 
We went yesterday morning, bright and early.  She loves her group and it was a fun thing to do with her dance friends.  They invited their dance (Caterpillar and Butterflies) and Alice in Wonderland to come dance.  At the last second, they decided they only had time for one dance, so Alice joined them in their dance. 
Emma looked beautiful as a butterfly and danced gracefully, sweet girl. 
Emma and Alice, watching the show. 
Getting ready to go on stage! Ooh, I just want to kiss her face.
The darling butterflies, Emma, McKinzie, Emma, and McKenna. 
The whole gang…

On the air…

Maisy Lancaster, on the left, is the head of Mountain West Ballet.  Her husband, Vere, was my doctor forever.  He retired at the end of last year and I miss him because he’s a brilliant doctor.  Fortunately, he accompanied her so we got to visit for a while.  It was fun to see him again! 


Well done, ballerina girl!  Her performances are this weekend at the Sandy Amphitheater, so if you want to see a great show, come on over!

Koko’s Dance Showcase

Dakota took dance and choir this year to prepare for more musical theater opportunities.  She really did well in both, and it was fun to watch her perform. 
They held a dance showcase at the school, she did a great job!  We filmed the dance, but here’s her fun costume…they represented water during their dance, it was cool!  Tessa’s dance was a glow-in-the-dark, they looked like stick people.  Very clever. 
Good job, lovely dancer!!

Nutcracker!

This year, my girls were involved in the Mountain West Ballet production of the Nutcracker.  Emma was in the Merliton Corps, and Camri was a Sugar Plum Page. One of the best parts of this whole production is that moms and dads get to volunteer to help.  It is a non-profit organization, so volunteer help is key.  We are asked to give 10 hours of service, so when each parent pitches in, there is enough help.
The first night the girls performed, we all went to see them.  And by “we all”, I mean Joe and I, Dakota, Colin, Grandma and Grandpa Pulsipher, and Grandma and Grandpa Heugly.  PLUS, their cousins were in the same cast (Sammie was a soldier and Alex was also a Sugar Plum Page), so Jake and Liz were there too.  It was a huge party! 
It was a beautiful production and I love, love, love seeing my girls perform.  They performed at Mt. Jordan Middle School on a Saturday night, a Saturday afternoon, and a Monday night.  This was their Saturday night performance…cute girls!!



The next Saturday was a matinee…I helped with ticket sales.  It was so fun to see all the cute families, many with little girls all dressed up, coming to see the Nutcracker.  What a fun tradition! 
Monday night was the best, because I got to help in the Green Room.  Because the costumes are rented, they only wear them for their number, then change out of them.  The only way to get pictures in their costumes was to help them get dressed….so I did.  They all wear a tan leotard and tights underneath, so changing in and out of costumes is very modest.  I was also lucky because the night I was helping Camri’s group in the Green Room, Liz was helping Sammie’s group, so we got to hang out back stage.  When Emma was on Good Things Utah, I got some great costume shots of her, now I got to see Sammie, Alex, and Camri all dressed up too!
Cute Sammie and her rosy cheeks.

Alex and Camri, best buds.  Their whole silly group…Mother Gigogne without her bon-bons:Heading to the stage…I was sneaking some backstage shots while they danced…don’t worry, I didn’t use a flash…

Backstage we had time to play and hang out until the performance ended.  Time for more pictures!!

Organized chaos.

I’m so proud of my girls!  All the rehearsals, the driving in the snow, the hours of make-up application and removal, the music, the dancing….all worth it.