A Night At the Ballet

On May 5, 2010 Catherine was treated to a "magic trick" by the group From Thin Air. Bill Ruck has started an organization in memory of his son Pierce, who lost a battle with leukemia in December.

Because Catherine loves ballet, Bill arranged for Catherine to attend a dress rehearsal at the Atlanta Ballet Company. We also got a backstage tour:

One of the ballerinas explained to Catherine that they dip their dance shoes in rosin before they dance:

The ballerina shows Catherine the mirror (with tissues, a water bottle, and a trash can) where the dancers can take one last look at themselves before the step on stage:

Catherine saw the dancers stretching across the stage and ran over to give them some hugs:

Catherine and Sabrina changed clothes in one of the dancer's dressing rooms. One of the dancers showed Catherine how she was sewing up her shoes:

After the tour, we went to the front of the theatre to watch the show:

Because it was the 80th anniversary of the ballet company, they had a bunch of costumes on display from past productions:

Sabrina was mesmerized by the dancers and sat on our laps staring at them the whole time. After each dance ended, Sabrina would say "Again!"

We were so excited because a limo arrived at our house and took us to dinner, then to the ballet. The girls were thrilled that they were not confined to a car seat during the ride. Catherine enjoyed bouncing up and down on the seats. On the way back, Catherine was so tired she laid down on the seat and put her head in my lap.

We went to pizza before the ballet:

Sabrina looks so cute in her party dress:

More ballet moves:

Ballet Class

Catherine really enjoys her ballet class, where she basically dances along with the teacher. The class seems so simple that I can't imagine that she is actually learning anything. But, I have noticed her singing and dancing the songs at home.

Catherine Visits the Atlanta Ballet

We had a fabulous evening yesterday, thanks to a new organization called From Thin Air. Bill Ruck, who runs From Thin Air, pulls all kinds of tricks out of his (silly) hat and makes one evening of magic for children suffering from cancer or other medical challenges.

Catherine's magical night began when a "really long car" arrived at our house. The girls loved their first ride in a limo - the lights in the ceiling kept changing colors and the girls were allowed to walk around in the car (only at stop lights) - forget car seats!

After a fun dinner of pizza at Mellow Mushroom, the limo took us to the Atlanta Ballet. The girls got a tour of the stage and joined the real dancers in the dressing room to change into their leotards. We got to watch the ballet's dress rehearsal from the front row. We knew Catherine would be enthralled, but were thoroughly shocked at how mesmerized Sabrina was. As soon as the curtain would come down after each dance, Sabrina would scream out "Again!" She sat on our laps and stared at the dancers for two hours.

11 Alive news covered the evening:

Catherine's health is improving every day, which lets her personality and energy shine. She talked during the entire ballet with a steady stream of questions and comments: "They are wearing blue. How many are there? Where did they go? She is on her tiptoes. He is a boy dancer. Why are they wearing white? Her hair is in a tight ponytail. That man is taking pictures. There is the man with the silly hat. Her skirt is pretty. The dancers are spinning around. Can we put make up on now? She is dancing by herself. The other dancers came back."

We cannot say THANK YOU enough to "the man in the silly hat," Bill Ruck. He has turned the loss of his son to leukemia into a mission to provide magical nights to other children fighting cancer. One of his mantras is "I choose to live in a world where people help each other." He is right. Last night was a fabulous, magical example of several people and organizations coming together to help Catherine. I am so grateful for people who choose to help other people.

First Ballet Class

We recently signed Catherine up for a ballet class. She loves it. Here she is following the teacher's lead: