Terry McNamee
For the Beaver
The iconic music of The Nutcracker ballet filled the L&A Museum and Archives as children took part in a special event to learn about ballet behind the scenes.
Young dancers from The Conservatory in Kingston danced at the museum on Saturday, before the audience took part in the Candy Cane Dance. Co-artistic director Melissa Mahady Wilton talked about what ballet is and about the history and meaning of this famous ballet. Children had the opportunity to admire and even try on the sparkling costumes, which are all especially made for The Conservatory. The dancers happily talked about the various parts of the costumes, how the special toe shoes are made and any other aspects of ballet that interested the spectators.
There also were crafts in which children could make paper ballerinas and paper nutcrackers to keep as a memento of the day.
Museum program coordinator Amber Meyer said this event was part of the Museum Kids Saturday program and was in keeping with the museum’s Christmas tree theme, which features nutcrackers.
The museum’s next program is a stained glass ornament workshop this Saturday, Dec. 14. People can drop in between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Howard Sandles is teaching the class, in which people will learn to create one of a kind stained glass ornaments, and learn about the process of glass cutting and soldering. The cost is $10 per person for one kit to make one ornament.
The museum is located at 97 Thomas St. East in Napanee. For more information about any of these programs, call 613-354-3027.