Just popping in to share some photos I took backstage before last night’s Sleeping Beauty premiere. Laden with sparkly beads, embroidered golden crests, stacked satin ribbons, and glossy sequin strips, these gorgeous costumes could not go undocumented.

I didn’t realize how disconcerting it would be to sit in the audience on opening night.  Of course it’s been strange staying home while my roommate goes off to theater week rehearsals, but it wasn’t until the lights went down and the first notes of the overture sprang from the stage-framing speakers that I felt a flutter in the pit of my stomach.  Wait, no, I haven’t got my hair up yet!  My pointe shoes are miles away!  I forgot to bring pink tights!  These thoughts all raced through my mind, only to be shooed out by the startling mental image of my fractured spine that has recently taken up residence there.  So I put the battling brain bothers aside to watch my friends perform on stage, something I rarely have the pleasure of seeing.  And what a pleasure it was!

Sitting solo in the audience for today’s matinee, I realized how lucky I am to be part of a company where everyone is so gosh darn nice.  I couldn’t keep the smile from my face as I watched my little violin girls, fairies, and nymphs balancé and emboîté across the stage.  This craaaazy bunch truly is my special kind of family, and I’m so honored to call them that.