Gracie Dances (and Talks to Strangers in Restaurants)

She was four years old and sitting with her family at a table near mine at the restaurant. Barefoot and dressed in a baby pink leotard and hot pink tutu, she tiptoed near my table and then back to her own. Three or four times, she did this dance, moving closer and closer while her parents called her back, telling her to leave me alone. I asked her if she was a ballerina, and suddenly, Gracie was regaling me with the minuscule details of her colorful life.

For nigh on ten minutes, we chatted. She climbed into the chair opposite me and while I ate my soup, told me about pre-pre-K, homework, dance class, her dislike of the color of her ballet slippers, and her excitement for an upcoming trip to Disney World. When I told her I met Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty and Belle when I was at Disney World but that Ariel was on vacation and so I didn't get to meet her, Gracie giggled and then firmly corrected me: Ariel was just upstairs changing.

Her mother suggested that Gracie color a page from her coloring book for me. On presenting the gift, she explained that she'd left the white parts that way on purpose. I promised to hang it on my refrigerator. She told me I'd have to put a magnet on it first. I assured her I would.

As she and her family prepared to depart for dance class, Gracie invited me to visit her anytime, told me her address (oops!) and asked when I would be there. Her mother smiled indulgently and said of course I was welcome anytime. Gracie told me to leave a note in the mailbox by their driveway to say when I would visit.

Gracie transformed my lonely meal into an exuberant conversation merely by being herself. She shares her smiles and her laughter with strangers at restaurants because why wouldn't we want to laugh with her?

Can this child-like confidence be contagious? Please!

Everything was Beautiful at the Ballet

The Wheeling Symphony's annual production of The Nutcracker went off without a hitch this past Friday and Saturday, with two stunning performances by local dancers, the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra, and visiting professionals.

For the first time since we started staging the ballet in 2009, the tech happened the way it is supposed to. This year, it was even more precarious going into opening on Friday night, with just one rehearsal in the theatre with tech, and that a disaster like none we've had the past two years, including the first in 2009. Nearly everything went awry, but we did manage to open the magic box and close it without injuring anyone. Hooray!

Although the audiences could have been larger, the show itself was positively stunning. I say that with a bit of a bias, but I've heard from other audience members that it was better than it's been in the past. New costumes increased the production values, and the addition of Mother Ginger and her Bon Bons provided a laugh mid-way through Act II.

Many thanks to Cheryl Pompeo and Oglebay Institute's Youth Ballet Company for your spectacular performances. You have truly outdone yourselves this year, and it was a pleasure to watch both shows from the wings.

Thank you, too, to the dancers who came out to auditions and shone for the first time in the WSO's Nutcracker.

Congratulations to Maestro Andre Raphel and the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra for superb performances (even in the face of late arrival and little time to warm up)!

Another Nutcracker is over, and it is time to move on, looking forward to next year's holiday season and (hopefully) the return of this beloved tradition.

Merry Christmas!