Being
a music teacher is FUN. It comes with a lot of exciting perks… getting to put
on shows, singing and dancing every day at work, no parent teacher conferences (hehe),
and of course, the FIELD TRIPS!
The
students at my work are so lucky that they get to go on several music field
trips during their time in the elementary school. My absolute favorite field
trip I get to take my students on was this past Friday. We went to the Whitaker
Center in Harrisburg to see Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet’s performance of
George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker. This is actually my eighth time seeing the
performance and it never gets old.
Surprisingly, I had never seen a live ballet until I started organizing this field
trip. I had been to many concerts, plays, Broadway musicals, but never THE
BALLET. How lucky these students are that at the ripe old age of nine or ten, they
get to see such a professionally done ballet performance.
Props
must be given to CPYB who provide these educational performances for students
at such a low price that we are able to afford the trip. Otherwise, it
certainly would not be possible.
Here are some of the things I particularly enjoy about seeing The Nutcracker each and every year...
Tchaikovsky’s music. It’s beautiful! Most people know the popular pieces from the show... The March, Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, Trepak… The more I see the show, the more I become familiar with the not so well known pieces, and I really enjoy them.
The athleticism of the dancers. I am amazed at what their bodies are capable of and the years of training it took to get them there. Oh, to be able to jump that high, have their flexibility, balance, and rhythm!
The discipline of the children. No,
not the children I take on the trip (though they are fabulous audience members),
but the children performing in the show. In Balanchine’s version of The
Nutcracker, the parts of the children are played by actual children. Now, I’ve never been in a ballet, but I’ve been in
countless musicals and choreographed many musicals, and I know how
disciplined the children must be when performing in those. Multiply that by 100
and that’s probably the discipline it takes to perform in a ballet!
Men in tights. Not
just any men. DANSEURS in tights!
All in all, it's a great trip! I'm so thankful we get to go each year and experience the magic that is The Nutcracker!
Have you ever been to the ballet?
I miss fun field trips. When I was in school we saw plays and orchestras etc. I feel like my students never get fun/cultural trips!
ReplyDeleteWhat grade do you teach Ali?
DeleteLooks like it will be a really fun field trip! We actually have tickets to see The Nutcracker on Saturday and I'm pretty pumped!
ReplyDeleteI did dance at school and even I didn't get taken to the ballet on field trips! So jealous!
ReplyDelete