Backstage at the Nutcracker

Yesterday, Charlotte had another first!  She enjoyed the ballet live for the first time.  The Grand Rapids Ballet Company and students of the Grand Rapids Ballet School welcomed Charlotte backstage before and after their performance of “The Nutcracker.”

The Grand Rapids Ballet Company was generous to invite Charlotte to the performance along with three family members for the show.  Her dad and brother stayed home, and she was joined by mom Sharon, sister-in-law Amber, and niece Aurora for a girls afternoon outing.

The stars of the performance were very sweet to Charlotte, welcoming her to check out their costumes, shoes and props.  She met with the Nutcracker Prince (Stephen Sanford), the Sugar Plum Fairy (Rachael Riley) and Clara (Matisen Douglas).  Charlotte is eager more than ever to explore dancing, and we will begin looking at schools in our neighborhood to give her this opportunity.

Enjoy a gallery of photos from the outing on MLive.com by photographer Chris Clark, http://photos.mlive.com/4469/gallery/charlotte_ponce_goes_backstage_at_the_nutcracker/index.html.