June 1, 2005
Diminutive dancer stage-struck
By
Herald Editor
Three year olds have an uncanny ability to both upstage and be center stage. Exiting stage left, however, remains an abstract concept.
After one pink tutu public performance, Ella is officially stage-struck. If curtain calls went out to diapered dancers, our daughter would still be basking in the limelight. However, just the thought of a preschool prima donna gives me stage fright.
Thankfully, I don't recall anyone riding a pretend pony across the stage in "Swan Lake." So daddy still has a few years before he starts worrying about pointe shoe prices.
For her first dance recital, however, I pothered about Ella getting a run in her tights - as in running out on stage in only her tights. Actually I'm a bit too laid back to pother, so my wife played stage mom. Of course it goes without saying that she is a dear mom, not a Joan Crawford mommie dearest. None the less, I will state the obvious to avoid obvious ramifications of obtuse husbandry.
While I was waiting in the audience, however, the real show was backstage. Like any true performer, Ella stretched before taking the stage. Who knew full body tutu barrel rows prevented torn hamstrings? She also poked at dead flies caught in a cobweb and nearly pulled a fire alarm - which is odd because I experienced the exact jitters before my college theater productions.
Despite the potential for a full-scale stage disaster not seen since Amy Fisher - the musical, Ella and her fellow bantam ballerinas stole the show. Unlike political theater, there was very little scripted choreography. The gaggle of pink tutus tiptoed upstage, downstage and a few disappeared offstage - perhaps for a potty stop.
Sure some broke through the fourth wall of theater, but no one fell off the stage; a successful Saturday matinee even by Broadway standards.
As the curtain closed on Ella's first stage experience, one thing was easy to see - her ballet slippers. After all, who could blame her for not wanting to exit stage left right away.
Grand Traverse Herald editor Garret Leiva can be reached at 933-1416 or e-mail gleiva@gtherald.com