Nutcracker 2009

Rehearsals started today for the 2009 production of The Nutcracker. Sarah and I headed downtown for her 1 hour rehearsal in Studio A, and then we had a break before the first parent meeting. On our way back to the Joffrey Tower it began to rain so we were slightly damp upon arrival for the meeting. You can even see a few raindrops in the picture of Sarah.
The meeting was run this year by Elizabeth Millman. Some familiar faces were there; Willy Shives and Charthel Arthur. Anna and Alexei were not in attendance at today's meeting. They are the artistic directors for the Academy of Dance. The meeting ran about an hour and then the dancers were grouped by geographic area to have their pictures taken by the Silverman Group for distribution to newspapers, radio stations etc. The studio was warm as usual and filled with excited dancers and parents who were extremely uncomfortable sitting on the studio floor. This year I grabbed a seat by the wall (it made a big difference).

This year will definitely be different than in years past. Charthel made a point of letting everyone know that there are half as many rehearsals this year so the dancers have to be well rested and on time for rehearsals. "Imperative!" she stressed. Let's cross our fingers that all goes smoothly. I am sure I will provide updates.

When we left the building it was still raining and we had parked several blocks away. We ran across each street to be sure to catch the walk signal and were soaked by the time we reached the car. At least we were laughing!