Two outstanding performances of the Nutcracker Suite left our audiences in awe during the HHMS Winter Concert at the Whitby Courthouse Theatre
What an incredible treat it was for parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts, friends and relatives from close and far, as our Junior Casa, Casa and Elementary students performed the Nutcracker Suite in two back-to-back shows on Friday. It was the premiere of the HHMS Performing Arts Programme led by Ms. Harman, revealing the outstanding results of her passionate and hard work that really shined through as the children performed with all their heart and with ever-increasing excitement and confidence.
Why did we choose Clara’s fantasy story to celebrate with?
Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Ballet is a holiday classic and a family favourite all over the world. It is Christmas Eve at Clara’s house and Clara’s heart is filled with excitement when she opens Godpapa’s gift – a Nutcracker soldier. But the nutcracker breaks. As night falls, all is quiet and everyone’s asleep, Clara’s magical dream begins to unfold.
Clara’s dream in fantasyland is captivating for all; whether we celebrate Christmas or Diwali, Hanukkah, Eid or Kwanza, Clara’s story is mesmerizing to all of us. It is an inspiring story about the warmth of family and friends, the triumph of good and evil, it is about love, and, most of all, it is about the magic of the holidays.
We made this holiday concert even more magical with a raffle for some fabulous prizes. Two lucky families are off to enjoy the “real” Nutcracker Ballet today, performed by the Toronto International Ballet Theatre at the Sony Centre; the winners of the Grand Prize at each performance. In addition to the four Ballet tickets two families were winners of a Gift Basket each including a wooden nutcracker soldier, gift cards to dinner and the movies and a bag of popcorn (valued at $85 each), and six lucky winners went home with a small wooden nutcracker soldier.
The shows were truly magical, it was a dream come true with the support of all the friends and families of Hatch House, all our incredible children, all our wonderful teachers and the help of our volunteering parents in making props and selling raffle tickets. Thank you, everyone for this exceptional celebration and for helping us go ABOVE and BEYOND, once again!
As an end note, I have to mention that incidentally, even the sound technician of the Whitby Courhouse Theatre who has seen hundreds and hundreds of productions before, commanded us and expressed his astonishment by our children’s wonderous performance. I cannot be more proud!
Happy Holidays!