Holiday Drama not from the Llama!

Once again The Connecticut Concert Ballet charmed the Faxon community with The Nutcracker!  This is, by far, the prettiest event we host each year.  Our patrons, young and old adore the music, the costumes, and the dancing.  And the little ones wait ever so patiently for their chance to hold hands and dance at the end of the evening.  It's magical!

The program is planned for ages 4 and older with an adult, yet all are welcome.  We set up big chairs and little chairs.  We give out free tickets starting a week in advance.  We wrote a "how to" on hosting a ballet company in your library.  Please take a look for ideas.  

The young dancers pull tender heart strings.

The teen dancers in the company take your breath away!

Piper and I love it when they stop everything to read!  Yes, a couple of cool cats!

Colorful

joyful

happy

  

                               

confident READERS

Bringing E.T.A. Hoffman's The Nutcracker drama to life with Tchaikovsky's amazing music and the Connecticut Concert Ballet dancers is an honored tradition in our little library. Holiday joy is shared beginning with jingle bells and ending with candy canes on one magical night.  We do our best to continue the joy in the month of December with coloring pages 

                           .....and  Saturday "pop-up" crafts - Torn Paper Nutcracker

Thanks for visiting Piper Loves the Library.  Please check out our Flannel Friday Friends.  They are a fantastic creative resource.   Lisa is this week's host.  Go take a peek!

How to "holiday" at the Library!

The Nutcracker Ballet Packs the House!

Here's how to host a holiday ballet in your library.  Find a great local ballet company.  We work with the Connecticut Concert Ballet, (please click and look, absolutely beautiful!) Their pricing works for us and they are wonderfully professional - from management, design, creativity, dancers, talent, poise and personality!  We love them. 

 Contact your ballet company in the summer or earlier to secure the best date for November or December.  My advice is the beginning of December.  Family schedules get wildly crazy as December inches along.  Talk with the director of the dance company to be sure you have full costumed dancers coming.  Be clear that your library wants dances from the Nutcracker with all the beautiful music.  The Connecticut Concert Ballet brings a sound person and sound system.  Also make sure to review the space - the type of flooring in your program room and how much space the dancers need.  We arrange for a 45 minute program, (this is absolutely perfect for kids), followed by a fabulous  photo opportunity.  The dancers are amazingly gracious with their time and take photo after photo with the young audience.

Make tickets...yes, tickets! It's the ballet!  (note: be sure to know how much space the dancers need before you decide how many tickets.)  And announce when these FREE tickets will be available.  Advertise in all your usual ways.  Each person attending must have a ticket and I suggest that children be at least age 4.  (you know you'll get so many requests ..."my child is a very mature 3 yr old; may he/she attend?"  You'll need to decide this ahead of time.) And all children must come with an adult.  You'll get adults out "on their own" for the ballet even though this may be a "Children's" sponsored program.  It's wonderful!

Now our community room is tiny and very simple (as in PLAIN).  You may want to dress things up a bit.  I borrowed a Nutcracker from home.  

And some holiday flowers and displayed books everywhere!

We packed the house 5 minutes before the start of the show!

We handed out bells and sang Jingle Bells to welcome the Christmas Season

We sat back and enjoyed the show!

Now, what takes it way over the top for us and makes it all so memorable...the dancers along with one of their directors invite the children to join them and learn some ballet steps and then they all dance to the music.  Oh. My. Goodness.  These ballerinas are amazing!

The ballet dancers passed out candy canes and bookmarks to the audience

 and I requested a group pose.  Wow!

We had light refreshments and plenty of Christmas books ready to take home.  

And they took them!  This is the best way to start the holiday.

My thanks to Carol Waxman - the genius behind this in West Hartford.

This is a family favorite each year.    

P.S. (Piper Script) I love this beautiful Christmas angel.  Maybe I'll get wings and a tutu in my stocking!  Please leave a comment or a question...we love hearing from you.  xo