Above: The Capitol Arts Theatre, the place where Alison began her dancing career and now 24 years later, her little girl begins hers!
Above: Gracie is dressed and ready to perform as a dancing toy in...The Nutcracker!
Above: Gracie's fan club who gathered into the theatre to watch her debut as a dancer!
Above: Gracie & her mommy walking back stage just before the show began. So after having my little Gracie for 2 Christmas seasons I found myself wondering....could Christmas season get any better? Alison and Stephen announce in early November that Gracie would be in her first dance recital December 19th....The Nutcracker! Of course, I have the Gran reaction to the news! I'm thinking...hum, my little Gracie, the star of the show, when in reality, I know she is only one of many, many dancers who will be performing on stage. Well opening night finally arrived. I knew I would be very excited, perhaps a bit anxious or even eager to see my little Gracie perform. What I wasn't expecting was a FLASHBACK to May 1984. It is my little Alison's first dance recital, same building, same back stage entrance, and as I peek through the opening I see my little Alison, dressing her little Gracie in her costume, and giving her last minute tips on her performance! Wow! What an extra special roller coaster of emotions to make this night even more of an unforgettable experience!
So finally the show gets underway! Gracie's dance is the third song. I'm sitting in the audience wondering will Gracie be the shy kid in the class that stands still and stares at the audience, or will she be another that will ham it up? Oh, my gosh! What if she is one of those poor stage struck little girls who will cry when they are tossed into the spotlight for the first time? I tell you, I worry way too much! (a phrase my friend, Brenda often has used on me for over 25 years) Gracie did an amazing job! She was a bit shy at first, but by the end of the number she was performing as if she had done it thousand times! Now what is really interesting about this life experience for me is that from a Gran's perspective, the more I reflect on my little Gracie's performance, the better she was...in fact now that I've told this story a hundred times or more she is ready to be a Rockette!
6 comments:
She was an absolute doll! :)
She is the cutest thing in that costume!!!
Oh Terri, the way you write, I was right there with you, peeking thru the curtain. Emotions. She is so precious and I love watching you two in church. The awe and wonder on your face when you look at her, and when she "grabs" your face and hugs you is just precious. Maybe Spencer will have me a special someone too.
p.s.
I was right there with you singing your song @ the christmas play. I could not finish tho, cause of the joy I felt and knowing what that song really meant to me and to you.
love you sis
She did such a wonderful job. We just knew that Raggidy Ann was lil Gracie. She did so wonderful. She had a lot of good coaching from her mom and gran I'm sure.
Love you guys, have a great Christmas.
Oh, how sweet. I wish I could've seen her!
How cute is she!? I can't believe the girls are growing up so fast!
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