Fancy Nancy and the Mermaid Ballet

Lia and I first discovered Fancy Nancy in the fall of 2011 when Lia was 3 1/2 years old and she received her first Fancy Nancy book as a gift.  Needless to say, it was love at first read for BOTH of us!  We quickly fell in love with the clever and funny stories, the big words, the beautiful illustrations, and the overall girliness found on every page.  We started building her collection almost immediately and have enjoyed countless hours of sharing these books over the past few years.  As a result, when I took Lia to see the Nutcracker Ballet this past December and learned that the same ballet studio would be putting on a ballet based on Lia's favorite Fancy Nancy book, Fancy Nancy and the Mermaid Ballet, there was no question of whether or not we would be going!  I bought the tickets back in January and we have waited all these months to see this favorite book come to life on stage.  When we walked into the lobby of the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue yesterday, we were both shocked to find Robbin Preiss Glasser, the illustrator of Fancy Nancy, signing books right there in the lobby.  We couldn't believe our eyes!  But this fun surprise was immediately followed by my frustration in not bringing Lia's copy of the book because I didn't know about the signing in advance.  And although several Fancy Nancy books were for sale in the lobby, I refused to pay $20 to buy another copy of a book we already owned.  So, I tried to brush aside my disappointment and enjoy the show with Lia.

We quickly took a picture of the mermaid posing with little girls in the lobby...

and then headed inside the theater to enjoy the show.  Lia and I had such a fun time watching this book come to life.  The Evergreen City Ballet really did such a great job!  It made me want to put my toe shoes on and flit around again.

Like with the Nutcracker Ballet, Lia was able to pose with many of the dancers in the lobby after the show was over.  Here she is with three of the mermaids who were just fabulous.

Lia posing with one of the fish dancers and the fourth mermaid (who happens to go to church with my parents).

We waited in line for quite some time so that Lia could take a picture with the dancer who played Fancy Nancy.  

We stopped two of the darling crabs for a quick picture.  These girls were so cute on stage!

At this point, the lobby had almost emptied and the long line to meet Robin Preiss Glasser had dwindled down to only a few people.  Since I still couldn't shake off my disappointment in not having Lia meet the illustrator and get a book signed, I decided to give in and buy one at the last minute.  However, I was still annoyed at buying a book  that we already had at home.  But then Lia came up with the perfect and obvious solution--buy a copy of a different Fancy Nancy book that we didn't own.  I just hadn't thought of this because I was so convinced that Lia needed to have her copy of Fancy Nancy and the Mermaid Ballet signed by the illustrator since this was the ballet we had just seen.  Regardless, I immediately agreed with Lia, bought the book, and we ran over to get in line.  And I'm so glad that we waited until the end to do this!  Since there was barely anyone in line, Robin Glasser was no longer quickly signing books in order to get to the next girl in line.  Instead, she was taking her time and doing the cutest things.  When Lia got up to her, she immediately asked Lia if she wanted a butterfly drawn on her hand.  Of course, Lia said 'yes.'  I mean, who doesn't want a picture drawn by a famous artist on their hand??    

Robin then started teasing Lia and laughing with her and brushing pink sparkles all over her hand, neck, and arm with a make-up brush.  It really was the cutest thing.  I can see now why this woman is so good at drawing darling pictures for little girls because she can still think and act like one.

Robin brushing more sparkles on Lia.

Robin and Lia laughing together.  Just priceless.

I had told Lia while we were waiting in line to make sure and spell her name for the illustrator so that she wouldn't write 'Leah' in her book.  So, when it was time for Robin to sign the book, Lia remembered to spell out her name.  Robin suddenly stopped and just looked at her in complete surprise and said, "Oh, that's beautiful!"  I was able to snap a picture at this exact moment!  I told Lia that she needs to always remember that the illustrator of her favorite books thinks that the spelling of her name is beautiful.  So neat.

Here is Robin signing Lia's book.

And closing it up afterwards.

Robin and Lia posing for a picture together.  So much fun!

A very giddy Lia and I almost skipped off to the elevator to head back to the car.  I'm so glad that we waited until the end to buy the book so that Lia could spend such quality time with Robin Preiss Glasser.  It truly was an experience we will never forget!  Thank you, Fancy Nancy, for making a Saturday afternoon such a memorable one!

And just for the record, I learned that the reason why Evergreen City Ballet was able to have such a V.I.P. guest signing books at their performance is due to the fact that the ballet company's director danced with Robin Preiss Glasser over 30 years ago at the Pennsylvania Ballet.  They have kept in touch all these years.  So, this talented lady went from being a professional ballerina to a professional artist.  Who knew?!