the yorkville nutcracker at barnes and noble

it's been so difficult to post this week. for the first half i had a terrible cold that left me very tired, and then for the second half we were so busy. then, when i finally found i had a moment to sit down, greg was always already seated at the computer. now here it is sunday night! we were at barnes and noble at 86th street, between lexington avenue and third avenue, for the yearly yorkville nutcracker presentation. i was ambitious to capture some of the dances and speeches on my camera and accidently erased several pictures of chanda and i at the river park with our little five year old friends. i thought i had downloaded them already, and the camera hadn't deleted them. but, no, i actually hadn't downloaded them at all. soooo, they are gone and in their place of i have gingerbread and spanish dances from the nutcracker, but i miss the pictures of the river because i had some lovely shots of the girls and of the seagulls flying over their heads . . just some beautiful autumn outdoor scenery!

chanda's friend nora danced lead gingerbread for the event.

(this music always makes me smile.)

nora's dad also came up to speak. he's been coming to nutcracker performances with his wife for eleven years. his son, who is currently away at college, began dancing in it when he was seven years old. now his sisters continue the tradition. mr. massie was also there to sign copies of his new book catherine the great. he spoke of how he's seen dancers grow through their nutcracker performances and move on to other companies and opportunities, having learned so much through their experiences with dances patrelle.

(greg and i hope to attend his talk at the broadway barnes and noble on tuesday.)

faith, who is dancing in the above movie, has performed in the nutcracker since she was six years old when she started as a page. she's eighteen and attends columbia university now. i think part of the reason she chose columbia was so she could continue to dance in the show!

francis patrelle came on at the end and spoke about how he based the ballet on historical events and real people. the ballet takes place in 1895 in gracie mansion when william l. strong was mayor of olde new york. even teddy roosevelt makes an appearance since he was police commissioner at the time. you can read more about the ballet on the company's website.