Guest post by Caroline McKinney

One might not associate a Sunday afternoon as “magical”. The word magical is usually reserved for moonlight evenings or midnight strolls. However Sunday September 29th was a truly magical experience as I watched the Ohio Dance Theatre’s presentation of Cinderella with my best girlfriend and our two little girls.

Instead of introducing our girls to the ballet for the first time by driving them all the way to downtown Cleveland, we attended the ballet at the Stocker Center at Lorain County Community College, just minutes from our homes.  I love that we had an opportunity to attend such an event right here in Lorain County.  Before we left for the event we created our tutu’s for the girls to wear to make their afternoon extra special.  Of course coupons were involved with the purchase.

Once we were in our seats we couldn’t wait for the performance to start.  As most little girls do, I grew up on the story of Cinderella and her Prince Charming.  I can vividly remember dancing to the Cinderella record we had and creating my own “performance” for my parents.  As you can see, I was just as excited for the ballet to begin as the little ones were.

The ballet was beautifully performed and the story magnificently depicted. This was no more evident when the crowd let out a collective gasp when Cinderella was driven onto the stage in a delightfully lit carriage and later when the dancers lept and twirled about at The Ball. After the ballet we were invited to meet the dancers where our girls were in awe and eager to capture the moment by taking pictures with them.

In our family we have a term that we often use: “Bread Basket of Life Experiences”. This is often used in reference to collecting less stuff and instead more moments, memories and life experiences that enrich our lives. Sunday September 29th was one of those moments and we would like to thank the Ohio Ballet Theater for the experience, they are definitely going “into our bread basket!”

Coming this December, Ohio Dance Theatre will be performing, The Nutcracker at the Stocker Arts Center in Elyria, Ohio.   They are thrilled to announce that New York City Ballet Principal Dancer, Daniel Ulbricht, will be a guest artist. Tickets are available for this December 20-22 event by calling Stocker Arts Center at 440-366-4040.

Performances:
December 20 – 7:30 pm
December 21 – 7:30 pm
December 22 – 2:00 pm

Ticket Prices:
$18 – $32
** A limited number of $12 seats are available for Friday and Saturdays performance.

Disclosure:  This is not a paid post.  All opinions are my own.  A huge thanks to Ohio Dance Theatre for providing tickets to review the show.