Easter Market Dancing...

Credit due.

Another Nutcracker is over... Running the show is chaotic and completely different from running a show with adult actors or dancers.  We have dancers from age 4 to age "none of your business".

One of my favorite bright nine year olds has been having a hard time this year.  Every week her group continues to be called the "little girls" and the "little ones" and as I sat quietly in the corner sewing or taking fitting notes I could hear her mumble in a quiet voice, "we're not that little, give us a little credit!".  Her class is indeed on the ball whereas the same level last year was sometimes problematic, I can see why she feels a bit underestimated.

Today I sat with one of our awesome helper moms and she looked over at a group of these young ladies and told them how amazing they were doing, their eyes lit up a little, and how they "look just like big kids when you're really so small." The light in the eyes turned into a little flame masked with fake smiles...

I looked over at them and remarked "Well, they really are the big kids.  In a couple of years they'll be pre-teens" Awesome helper mom looked at me and said "I suppose you're right, I hadn't thought about it like that."  Instantly all smiles were real and I had become their favorite adult.

Win!

**Not only was I mostly too busy to take any photos,  I just don't think it's appropriate to take pics of stranger's kids to post on my blog so please enjoy the awkward photoshop drawing... at least it gives me a little practice with this new program.

Da Fashion Show...

... that was over a week ago now... and that I haven't downloaded most of my pictures from...
Macy's has a Passport show every year where they have a big fund raiser for various charities they support. Every year they wind up hiring Cass' shop to do alterations and create specialty pieces for the auctions, the dancers, whatever... some years the shop hires me to help out. This year I worked on the Keith Herring dresses in the Spring and then a few Sunday's ago I came in and put in 8 hours of fast alterations.

Most of the alterations this year were for the pretty dancer boys seen in the last post.
The clothes purchased for the dancers weren't designed to fit dancer's bodies so we wound up putting all sorts of ugly (up close) alterations to make them actually fit someone with a tiny waist, broad shoulders, and a high round butt you can bounce quarters off of... oh excuse me I got carried away for a minute... super-human physique doesn't fit "slim cut" suits and Levi's 501's.
The 501's were something special because they had a special denim printed so that the Levi's people could make genuine Levi's jeans with a Keith Herring print. However, the Keith Herring estate made the Macy's people promise to destroy all of the fabric and the pants after the shows were all over because the art is all copywritten and they can't have just anybody wearing around radient babies.

Even though the alterations were what we call "meatball surgery" they looked fine when moving in stage light to with fast paced choreography...

The Passport show involved a pre-show expo full of delicious tiny food, free vodka, sponsor's goodies and entertainment...





Then we were shuffled off to the other building on the pier to see the rich people bid lots of money for vacation packages and a print of Silence=Death ($17,000). The mayor of San Francisco was there with his perfect hair and new wife and Dame Edna was there to give him a good ribbing...

Then there was the fashion show split up with dance numbers. Some of the designers had live music played with their shows. Designers featured included Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Ben Sherman, Ed Hardy (designed by Christian Audigier) and some others...





After the fashion show was of corse the post-show party full of desserts, more give-aways and more vodka.

I think that about brings you all up to date. It was a lot of fun and a welcome break from the unending sewing/shopping/driving/hauling that I've been doing for the theaters I'm working for.

No time to blog... (quick! Post something anyway)!

Hi! In a nut shell;
Spring; worked on Keith Herring couture for Macy's
Sunday; spent 8 hours altering men's shirts...
Yesterday; got to go to the fashion show/benefit...
it was awesome.
Now I need to catch up for lost time...
but here's what all those shirts were used on.


... proper post to come.