Applause!

The weekend can’t come quickly enough for the youngest cast members of St. Croix Ballet’s “Sleeping Beauty,” sponsored by Ballet Jubilate. The 5- and 6-year-old Christening Girls might not know what a “Christening Girl” is, but they certainly know that they love to dance.

Q: What is a christening Girl?

-Clarice: A Christening Girl is the girl that brings the baby flower gifts.
-Eleanor: It is a girl that christens a baby that has just been born.
-Genevieve: I don’t know

Q: What do you do in your dance?

-Kaehla: We do a pretty dance.
-Clarice: We dance, I know what to do, but I don't know how to explain it.
-Emeline: We run and turn and curtsy. Then we run in two circles that are small, run in a big circle then we run out and in. Then we sit down, put our nice ribbon down, and rock our babies. Then the number ones run around their girls and then number two run around their girls and then they run in a big circle and get in a line to give the ribbons to the baby. That’s all.

Q: If you keep dancing, is there another part in Sleeping Beauty you’d like to dance? Why?

-Eleanor: Any part! Because get you to be on the stage. The funnest part of being on the stage was being a mouse (in the Nutcracker) let me tell you that!
-Genevieve: I wanna be a small fairy because you get to wear pink and purple costumes
-Kaehla: Sleeping Beauty because she is my favorite princess.

Q: Is dancing fun? Why?

-Genevieve: Yes, because you get to learn all these new ballet moves.
-Emeline: Yes. Because you get to move around and move your body and because you get to stretch. I like dancing because it is fun.
-Eleanor: Yes. Because you get exercise.

Q: What’s your least favorite thing about dancing?

-Emeline: Don’t like about dancing? NO! I like everything about dancing!
-Eleanor: Nothing. Are you crazy?
-Clarice: Nothing!

Q: What do you like best about dancing in a ballet?

-Genevieve: You get to be on stage.
-Emeline: Where you get to curtsy at the end.
-Clarice: The applause.

The Christening Girls will perform alongside over 100 St. Croix Ballet dancers in the upcoming production of Sleeping Beauty, sponsored by Ballet Jubilate. Performances are Friday, March 27, 7:00 p.m.; Saturday, March 28, 2 and 7 pm; and Sunday, March 29, 2:00 pm, at the Stillwater Area High School Auditorium. Tickets are $12 for reserved seating. Order on-line at www.stcroixballet.com or call 651-439-2820