Shopping for ballet on vinyl with Maddie

My daughter Madeline (3 years old) has been staging performances of the Nutcracker in our living room twice a day, every day, for months now. There's the matinee before "quiet time", and then the late afternoon performance. She asks for cues, like "who's that?" and given the storyline, expresses the story in concord with the music. Maddie is quite professional. She'll insist that she wear her leotard, tights and ballet slippers. Between each movement, she'll exit the stage.

Every week after her ballet class, she incorporates the latest moves into her performance. Her regular audience is her 4 month old brother, who sits transfixed in his bouncy seat or Exersaucer (as the mood takes him).

Maddie started performing to Bernstein's Nutcracker on SACD, and has progressed to the unabridged Dorati on Mercury Living Presence (original pressing). Of course, as her Dad, I'm convinced that she's a genius, and brimming with pride.

More recently, she's been picking up tips from the Kirov Ballet DVD of Sleeping Beauty, which she doesn't tire of watching, despite being 3 hours long.

This evening, we had plotted together to shop for more ballet on vinyl (with Mum and little brother conveniently off to Berlin). I prepped her on the difference between good dogs and bad dogs (RCA Shaded Dog vs. Dynagroove), which she quickly caught on to, also identifying many titles when she spotted a ballerina on the cover.

We spent two hours in the store, and only near the end did she suggest for the first time, that perhaps it was time to move on. Adda girl!