Wow! If I had to sum up the Tahoe Youth Ballet Spring Performance in one word it would be wow. But since I have this blank white screen in front of me I might as well expand. If is funny how you happen upon things in life that turn out to be great. Last fall we attended the Abalone Feedat Wolfdale’s for the first time. It is an annual fund raiser and in the fall it was benefitting the Tahoe Youth Ballet. The brother of a dear friend of mine is dating Christin Hanna, the Artistic Director (and co-founder) of the Tahoe Youth Ballet. We all enjoyed a wonderful abalone dinner and got a brief education on the Tahoe Youth Ballet program. It is because of that dinner that I marked my calendar to go to the performance last Friday night. We made it a family affair and brought the kids (ages 2 and 5), not knowing if it would be age appropriate. Let me just tell you, it was definitely for the whole family, at least ours.
The show consisted of 4 performances, each choreographed by a different individual bringing great diversity to the show. The dancers included 6 local girls ranging in age from 14 to 18 years plus a guest male dancer. The level of dance was impressive, especially for a small town and a ballet company just over a year old. I would certainly recommend attending the next one.
As for the kids, our 5 year old son watched in amazement and his little fingers were playing an imaginary air piano on his lap (he’s a few months into piano lessons). Our 2 year old daughter was a little more verbal. She sat on the edge of her chair observing everything and commenting along the way… “Where is the boy now? There are three girls. Where did they go? Why did she take her skirt off. I want more.” After the show she did about 50 twirls on stage in front of the drawn curtain. I now have a budding ballerina on my hands. We will definitely be looking to start the baby ballerina class when she turns three.
All in all it was a wonderful evening. I wish the Tahoe Youth Ballet great success as they expand over the years to come.
