Ballerina

I never got around to writing up something about Karsyn’s performance in the Nutcracker, so I wanted to set the record straight. I wrote about how she was preparing for her performance with the Moscow Ballet’s traveling group back in October after she earned a part through tryouts.

After three months of rehearsals, she finally got to dance on December 30th. I have to say that I was floored by the whole thing. No, I’m not filling out her application to Juliard quite yet, but I have to say that I was one proud papa that night.

She danced in three or four sequences, which included a costume change between sequence 2 and 3. She played one of the children in the opening party scene, and then served as an angel in the latter parts of the performance.

The fact that she had to remember so many parts of the performance was the part that really impressed me. This wasn’t a 30 second routine mind you. I video taped every second of her on the stage, which amounted to about 17 minutes of footage. Some of it included the end of the performance, where all the performers come out on stage and take a bow, but the majority of the tape consists of Karsyn actually dancing out there.

She was required to be there at 9 in the morning, in preparation for a 3pm and 7pm performance at the Flint Center in Cupertino. Seating capacity is about 1200-1500 if you include the balconies and mezzanine levels. I attended the 3pm performance, which was close to sold out.

Just knowing that she was up there in front of all those people, with a cast of about 30 professional dancers was something I just didn’t fully grasp until I was there to see it. She loved being up on stage, which is something she must get from her mother, because I couldn’t do something like that.

All in all, it was something I’ll never forget. My little girl wasn’t so little for an evening. She was a dancer.

If you’re ever over the house, ask to see the video. It’s awesome.