Baas & Co.: My Two Favorite Girls!

I had the pleasure of being invited to two year end recitals this week. The first was for my "daughter," Amy, who finishes her freshman year in choir at a local high school. The show was in the quad (cold!) and was a lot of fun. The show was titled, "Lights, Camera, Action," and featured songs from movies. A couple of soloists braved Celine Dion and Barbra Streisand...personally, I think I would counsel against that...I suggested to Amy that she audition with something like a Judy Garland piece...not that Judy Garland is necessarily easy to sing, just that I think that people aren't so invested in Judy Garland as to have an opinion about the way you interpret her music...you know? You can't really go wrong with Judy Garland...anyway, what do I know, Amy's solo got bumped for the choir teacher's 5 year old daughter's tap class. Maybe Celine and Barbra are the way to go? Whatever, Amy has the most beautiful voice I've ever heard, and we are all worse for not having heard her solo on Friday!

The style was more musical theater than choral, and made for great entertainment. Each skit was brilliant in its choreography and production. The show was entirely student produced, which says a lot about the talent in that choir program! It will be exciting to see what the younger talent comes up with over the next couple of years.

The second show was the next evening, and was for another of our church youth, Ariana, a freshman at the Performing Arts Magnet School. This dance recital featured 48 dances with about 75 performers. The costumes and choreography were truly unbelievable. We knew only 4 of the girls performing, but enjoyed each of the dances very much. It was a thrill to have been invited. Here are pictures of Ariana--