Ellie did want to make sure Flat Mindy was dressed appropriately for the event. The skirt also doubles as a tutu, just in case the company was in need of an extra ballerina (you'll note Ellie's bun--similar rationale there).
So we were all ready to go. The performance started after bedtime. Serious stuff. We took a rest in the afternoon, just like fancy ladies getting ready for a ball, so we were up for it. Charlie was also ready for us to go. (We couldn't get a picture without him. Not even a sly photo bomb. Just an assumption that he is to be in any group picture being taken.)
They were pretty strict about photography during the performance, so I was not able to get a fake cameo shot of Flat Mindy with the dancers. We did sneak some during intermission, but were wary of using the flash.
You can see that Flat Mindy and Ellie were quite enjoying themselves. It was a good ballet for the novice audience member. Short scenes, lots of narrative, good comic relief. Ellie was awake and interested the whole time. When her interest started to lag a bit in one of the longer dances (after the beast transforms into the prince) I told her to watch for any pirouettes and see how many she could count. So good thing Mindy taught her that move before she left for Europe.
The pictures I didn't get and wished so much now that I had somehow captured happened after the show making our way back to the car. We had a bit of a walk to get there, and the whole way Ellie was still pretty hyped up from the show, demonstrating her best moves: "Watch me do a pirouette now!" "I'm going to leap over all of the lines in the sides walk!" "Watch this!" One flat-footed, clompy jump and twirl after another, accompanied by grunts and "hi-yah!" and "hoopla!" on the landings, with and occasional yank to hoist up her tights in between moves. I thought about how I didn't see or hear any of the professionals doing any of this, but I bet they were thinking it all.
So now Ellie is pretty excited about being all "ballet-ey." She's planning a Thanksgiving ballet and told me she needs a lovely blue skirt--to be a Thanksgiving water drop, she explained. Not a turkey. Mindy gets to be the turkey. (Alive Mindy, by the way, not Flat Mindy. She was clear on this, so don't think you can doppelganger out of this.) She told me I could be in the Thanksgiving Ballet too, if I wanted. I asked who I would play in it, thinking maybe a pilgrim or something. "Hmm. Maybe a Thanksgiving bag, or something?" I politely declined.
