The SugarPlum's 2009 Ballet Recital

For the past three years, month of May has been Recital Month in plezWorld as the SugarPlum spends successive weeks performing in either piano (last weekend) or ballet (this past weekend). This is the 7-year old's fourth year in ballet with the Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance Education (Atlanta Ballet Company) and this is her first year in "B" level dance.

As you will see in the following clip, she has really made great strides in the mastery of her performance. This year's performances represent a leap in maturity, focus, and technical ability on both the piano and the dance floor.

This year's ballet performance was held at the Georgia Tech Ferst Center for Arts in Atlanta. Unfortunately, there was significant degradation of the video as it was moved from camera to memory card to YouTube.

The SugarPlum's Ballet Recital



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plez sez: the SugarPlum never ceases to amaze with her stage presence... after her standout performance she was given a big bouquet of roses and was treated to her favorite dessert at the cheesecake factory in buckhead.

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The SugarPlum's 2009 Piano Recital

This year, SugarPlum has been learning piano via the Suzuki Method, whose principles are not very different from those of the Montessori school she attends: an immersion in playing the instrument naturally at a pace set by the student. My daughter has blossomed with this method with more emphasis on playing melodies rather than with learning to play by reading notes.

My little virtuoso was given her recital piece over eight weeks ago and she mastered it in alittle over three weeks, for the past month she's been playing it while concentrating on various nuances (speed, volume, etc.). Yesterday was the piano recital for all the kids who take piano class at her school. I decided to conduct a "dress" rehearsal prior to leaving for the show.

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plez sez: SugarPlum does not have stage fright and actually thrives in front of a live audience. she played her piece even better at the actual recital!

she's going to be checking plezWorld on a daily basis for updates, so please leave comments!

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SugarPlum's Piano Recital

The SugarPlum has practiced this piece ("Springtime") hundreds of times over the past month and committed it to memory. Sunday afternoon was the piano recital for her class. We decided to do a "dress" rehersal prior to leaving for the show.

plez sez: she played it even better at the actual recital!