Holiday Concerts

 

New Year is fast approaching, as evidenced by the gradually increasing amount of fireworks every night, and that means it's time for the kids' school concerts once again. Both boys had their prazdnik last Thursday, which meant that Josh and I got to spend hours squeezed into the performing hall with dozens of other parents eager to photograph their children. Sebby's class was first, and in marched all the little bunnies, clowns, elves and other creatures. They grabbed hands and marched around the yolochka (Christmas tree) as they sang. Then they performed a cute partner dance. I could tell Sebby enjoyed marching and twirling with his fellow rabbit friend, Adelia.

Eventually it was time for the honored guests - Dyed Moroz (Grandfather Frost) and his granddaughter Sniegurochka ("Snowgirl"). A few times of all the children screeching "Dyed Moroz!" at the top of their lungs proved sufficient to summon the blue-and-silver robed Santa. As is customary, Dyed Moroz himself magically makes the tree light up with his words: "raz, dva, tri, yolochka gari!" (One, two, three, Christmas tree, light up!) Then all the kids sang a song about his long, white beard. Sebby knows all of his school songs so well that he often sings them at home. He loves to watch the videos of his concerts over and over, singing and dancing along!

The beard song :)

Afterward, children were invited to go up to recite their poems for Dyed Moroz. Sebby watched from afar, getting out of his seat and inching a bit closer. Then, when there was a brief gap between children, he made a beeline for Santa (everyone laughed), and nestled in beside him. But he didn't say his poem! He just wanted to sit by Santa.

A snuggle with Dyed Moroz

Then came the bunny dance, which Sebby was a part of. At this point he successfully recited his poem about the zaika (rabbit) with dlinnie ushki (long ears) freezing his little nosik (nose). At one point in the song, all of the bunnies ran off to hide, with only their little tails sticking out. You can see Sebby's little gray tail here:

 

After a few more songs and games, it was time for the main event. A sniekovaya baba (snow lady) pulled in a sled holding a huge snowball, which opened to reveal presents: a huge bag of candy and chocolates, plus two oranges, for each child.

 

Immediately following Sebby's concert was Misha's first-and-second grade performance. In the rushed interlude between the two concerts, I barely managed to quickly paint Misha's face like a tiger! When the children filed in, we saw a colorful medley of costumes: monkeys, a lion, a scarecrow, a puppy, and a tin man (I think you've guessed the underlying theme), plus pirates, ninjas, tigers, snowflake girls, and flamenco dancers. Quite the variety! Misha joined the starting line-up to recite his poem about embarking upon new adventures and traveling to new horizons.

Misha did a great job singing the Novi God (New Year) song. There is such a difference from a year ago! Last Christmas he barely understood the chorus of the songs he was singing. This year, he not only understands almost all the words in each song, but he can pronounce them all better than I can and he is even able to read the text of the songs.

Another highlight was the "Goomy Bear" dance, which Misha led, calling forth two rows of pom-pom-antennae-adorned kids. The dance was full of cute footwork and funny hand motions.

My gummy bear - or, that is, "goomy" bear. :)

 

Naturally, Dyed Moroz was invited to this concert as well, and he did indeed respond to the shouts of his name. Obviously, Dyed Moroz decided to change his robe from red to blue, and he seemed to have grown quite a bit as well. :) He set the yolochka ablaze and danced with the kids.

The tiger tail

And all of the kids received their heavy bag of goodies!

Now they have two weeks of winter vacation to enjoy.