A couple of weeks ago, we traveled to Indiana University to visit our daughter. Most of our visit was described in my previous post, but there are a few additional photos from our trip that I'd like to share.
As it happened, our visit coincided with IU's 53rd annual production of The Nutcracker. As soon as I knew we were making the trip, I bought tickets. I love The Nutcracker and couldn't wait to see this production!
A larger-than-life nutcracker stood watch in the lobby of the Musical Arts Center...
...opposite a huge Christmas tree, reminiscent of the tree which magically "grows" during Clara's dream.
As a young girl, our daughter had small parts in a local production of The Nutcracker for three years, and for many more years we attended different area Nutcracker performances each Christmas season. I feel like I know The Nutcracker pretty well and always enjoy comparing the set, staging, and dancing from one production to another.
Of course, the dancing in this production was perfect, as the show was produced by IU's ballet school. All of the main parts were performed by ballet majors, and the children were students in IU's pre-collegiate classes. But one of the best parts about the production was the live orchestra, made up of IU students -- including a few of Bailey's friends. I had never seen a Nutcracker production with a live orchestra and (because we were sitting high enough where we could see into the pit) found it hard to watch both the orchestra and the beautiful dancing at the same time!
The weather was warm, so we took a walk around the square after the performance. The town of Bloomington does a very nice job of decorating for the holidays.
Look at these trees! The lights extend all the way to the end of each branch. The trees are amazingly beautiful!
Your visit to IU looked like it was wonderful. You did lots of fun things!
ReplyDeleteLooks amazing! HOW do they do that with the lights to the tips of those branches?
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