A Fun Idea

You may remember that last spring I went to Center Stage's production of "The Wizard of Oz." It was a great production and I really enjoyed it. But that's not what I want to write about tonight.

I happened to be at Center Stage a couple of weeks before the production and I saw that their ballet director, the very talented Melissa Staheli, was hosting a "Wizard of Oz" party. The dancers brought pillows (and treats, I'm assuming) and all watched the movie together. I thought this was a really fun idea.

• It was a great way to re-energize and inspire the dancers towards the end of rehearsals. Let's face it, the 900th time you've rehearsed something is not the most fun thing in the world. Incredibly important, but not all that fun. A movie party is fun.
• It was a great way to remind the cast that, for the most part, they liked each other. After what feels like a million hours together, it's pretty easy to forget the good things about people and remember their mildly annoying habits.
• It was a great way to make sure all the kids fully understood the story they were acting out. You think everyone totally knows the story? Think again. My kids have never seen the movie. (My little sister loved "The Wizard of Oz" growing up and watched it at least once a week. When we moved, I "accidentally" lost it. She's still mad at me about it. We moved 16 years ago.) 

Melissa is a very talented teacher and choreographer. I like to borrow ideas from her whenever I can. This one I'm sharing with everyone.