“Is this her first Nutcracker?” asked Dania, as the applause built.
“No, she’s been before,” Gwen answered, watching her sister dance. As soon as the curtain call had begun, Hazel was on her feet, leading the adults to stand as well. She leapt off the ground, attempting to replicate the virtuosic jetés of the dancers. Gwen, bending down, put a hand on her shoulder.
“Wait until we’re outside,” she whispered, among the applause. “You could kick someone.”
Normally, Gwen’s parents would hire a babysitter to take care of Hazel when they wanted to go out. But things had come up suddenly, and they knew that Gwen would be home at her apartment that evening. Besides, Eleanor and Dania had always expressed a fondness for Gwen’s younger sister –– “more than Gwen, sometimes,” her mother had joked.
It was for this reason that Hazel found herself standing in the living room of Gwen’s apartment, wrapped up in her thermal coat and scarf, with a backpack full of activities.
“Hey Hazel!” Dania said, jumping up from the couch. “How have you been!”
“Doin’ good,” Hazel said. She shuffled into the room, with Gwen close behind her.
Meet the Hanslick Girls: Gwen, Eleanor and Dania. Created by writer Zach Barr, they are a trio of friends who are always out experiencing the best of entertainment. Be it plays, films, concerts, exhibits, or games, they’ve learned that the arts are best when experienced together. They may not have the same opinions, but their conversations tend to make for an entertaining read. To kick off the Christmas Season, the girls discuss a children’s book from 1962, as well as a recent adaptation of it. Let’s hear what they had to say…
It was finally December, and Dania was curled up in the corner of the couch – her blanket tucked under her feet and a book open across her lap. She glanced up at the window, hoping to see snow falling. Nothing yet, she thought, but there were still thirty days until the New Year.
She turned the page. A blue wedge of sky cut through the pinkish snow, drawing attention to the two figures, in red and brown, walking together towards the horizon. All around the paper-cutout illustrations, snowflakes had been stamped over the scene – blue and peach, distinct against the background. She read the final line, though she could have recited it: “…and they went out together into the deep, deep snow.”
The Hanslick Girls 