the best laid plans . .

morgan and i were supposed to see the new york city ballet's nutcracker this afternoon at 2 pm. we arrived only to find that all shows are cancelled through december 27th. i was so disappointed . . just really disappointed!

we used the bathroom at the performing arts library before heading downtown to rockefeller center. they had a photo display of the limon dance company from the 1960's and 1970's. morgana enjoyed seeing their dance teacher, betty jones, in the company photos.

betty is the smiling face in the center of this pic. they were visiting columbia in 1961 and meeting columbian president alberto camargo.

the company arriving in santiago chili . . 

betty is in the center with a scarf around her shoulders.

heading out to walk downtown to see the christmas tree . .

this year's tree is from elkton, maryland and is a 79 foot long norway spruce.

fortitude at the 42nd street library . . 

we then caught the fifth avenue bus downtown and i rode it to 10th street and made some shopping stops as i walked home (bigelow, the florist for paper white bulbs, pink olive and grove drug store). the walk home was incredibly windy and cold!

dinner was einkorn pasta with greens and shitake mushrooms.

nutcracker night

 my friend jeanette and i made plans to see her daughter's nutcracker show at peridance, where she takes classes most days after school. she's in her senior year of high school, and this is probably her last nutcracker before going to college, unless she attends a school in the city and is home for rehearsals at holiday time.

 we met beforehand at a local restaurant we thought would be nice to try. the food and coffee were very good. i had grilled octopus and then we shared a creme brulée.

 her daughter is in the school's youth ensemble.

it was a fun show. the dancers were all exceptional and the choreography was very clear and took into consideration the small stage and number of performers. the production also used video well, highlighting the story with images of the city and using graphics for scene changes.

the peridance contemporary dance company . .

the theatre is part of their school; they simply remove the divider between classrooms. it has such a different feel when the risers are put up and the full space is used.

 the christmas tree in our park . .

saturday morning

every morning i wake with a different piece of nutcracker music playing in my head. yesterday morning it was "grandfather's dance" from party scene. this morning it was the music that leads into the pantomime after angels (second act).

sunday shows

 on our way this morning . . 

it was so warm! it felt like spring in washington square and everyone was out. when i arrived at the theatre i had another tulle tutu to sew . . i sewed up one side and then held it up to see that the other also needed repair! i managed to finish it before the one o'clock show but i was worried that it would tear again for the five o'clock . . 

some backstage pics . . 

the claras with a cavalier and a snow king . .

 tea and a macaroon at the french cafe . . my friend marisa and i stayed for tea and quiche while the dancers went back to the theatre.

i watched the last show and then walked home with chanda through a warm winter night . .  

first day of nutcracker

 i'm so tired but have somehow survived a full day of nutcracker work. chanda and i were at the theatre at 10:15 this morning for a dress rehearsal.

we first had a breakfast of steel cut oats and tea. morgana held down the fort while chanda and i left for the theatre (stopping first in the laundry room to put several loads in). morgana stayed home until babysitting in the afternoon, and then she met me at the theatre for chanda's show.

 the call was for ten am but they didn't begin the dress until noon!!! this is so absurd. the communication was obviously poor between the person handling the scheduling information and the director of the show. it was not fun hanging out for two hours with twenty party scene children, ten mice, ten four year old christmas trees, and ten five year old little chefs. 

 obviously the costume person was overworked and didin't have time for repairs. my friend ro (short for rose marie, isn't that a pretty name?) and i stepped up to bat and we sewed up the huge tear in this pink tulle tutu. it was not an easy task and i was proud of our work.

ro had another project to do right when it was time for lunch break. her daughter and several friends threaded six needles for her before going out (she has a terrible time threading needles).

i couldn't leave her to hem this monstrosity of a dress all by herself when everyone was leaving, so i sat down and quickly stitched around to meet her halfway. she was not happy to do such a slap dash job. she likes to sew herself and appreciates careful work. sometimes, however, costumes just get thrown together.

we met the girls at cafe mille feuille. morgana calls it milly filly, which i find much easier to say.

it felt good to get out of the theatre and walk around. being so long inside without windows causes one to feel as if it's nighttime, but daylight was still there for a few more hours.

it was a wonderful show and chanda did a beautiful job dancing. here's a bit from her tech rehearsal on thursday:

i am so tired now and need to get some sleep!

schoolwork, chestnuts and nutcracker preparations

we've had several grey days so it was nice to see the sun shining this morning.

 chanda's lesson page on electric circuits that she finished today.

we had roasted chestnuts for lunch. i thought they were very good, though i could have cooked them a little longer. we just ran out of time.

 helping out with the dress rehearsal. in addition to dressing and undressing little christmas trees, gingerbread and party girls, my friend ro and i hemmed two dresses. i finished just in time to run to the pasta shop before they closed.

time for curls . . tomorrow is another dress and then a performance. 

the last nutcracker shows, advent, and santa lucia preparations

today there were two final performances of the nutcracker.

 

 i watched the 1 pm show along with several friends and it was really lovely. it was also a sold out performance.

 dancers and friend.

 after having tea together and leaving chanda for her final evening show, i walked home through the twilight.

 we had leftovers from korrina's cooking classes for our third sunday of advent dinner, and sang several songs.

 we have a waldorf group holiday get together tomorrow, so chanda is finishing her final geometric drawing.

 i also prepared the dough for our lüssekats and chanda shaped them for the oven.

they'll rise overnight and we'll bake them in the morning. well, chanda might bake them in the morning and serve them with tea or coffee to greg and i, though she does not think she'll have it done before greg leaves for work. maybe next year we can coordinate a morning when she isn't so tired, or stays up so late finishing schoolwork . . . . ! homework!

nutcracker on santa lucia day

 chanda was out the door this morning at 8:45 am for a 9 am ballet class. then she returned with three of her friends to eat and pass the time until the 1 pm show call. there was also a demonstration happening in washington square (black lives matter) so an alternate route to the theatre was planned to keep from getting stuck in the crowd.

 last minute mending . . 

 flower ballerinas . . 

soooooooldiers . .

 miss irene with her dancers . . 

 the little mice love writing to the claras . . 

 after the show . . chanda and her friends did a beautiful job.

we walked together through a now quiet washington square . . wishing it was snowing like last year . .