Read The Cinderella Ballet Mystery Online
Authors: Carolyn Keene
The Cinderella Ballet Mystery (7 page)
“The Clue Crew does it again,” George said with a big grin.
Nancy stood behind the blue velvet curtain. She peered through a crack between two curtain panels. “Oh, I see Dad and Hannah,” she said excitedly. “They're sitting in the front row!”
“I see my parents,” Bess said.
“I see mine, too,” George added.
It was opening night. The curtain would go up in a few minutes. Backstage, everyone was buzzing with excitement. Ms. Zelda hurried around making sure everyone's costumes were on just right. Mr. McGuire rushed here and there, checking that the lights and sound equipment were working properly.
Andrea came up to Nancy and her friends. She was dressed in her Act I Cinderella clothes: a simple gray dress, black tights, and black ballet slippers. In Act II, she would be transformed into a beautiful princess with her long
pink ball gownâand of course, her special Cinderella slippers.
Andrea gave each of the three girls a big hug. “I don't know how to thank you guys,” she said happily. “You really
are
the most awesome detectives in the world!”
“I'm just glad we found your slippers in time for opening night,” Nancy said.
“Gregory apologized to me and Mr. McGuire,” Andrea said. “He brought us both homemade cookies from his mom too. They were real this time.” She giggled.
“That's good.” Nancy giggled too.
“Places, everybody!” Mr. McGuire announced in a loud whisper. “Curtain in two minutes.”
“Oh, my gosh!” Bess exclaimed.
Nancy and her friends ran to their places. Nancy's heart was pounding so hard that she thought it would burst out of her chest. It was opening night! And she was in the show! She was not just a real detective but a real ballerina, too.
The lights in the theater dimmed. The music began to play.
The blue velvet curtain closed after the final act. Applause rang out in the auditorium.
Behind the curtain, the dancers rushed around, looking for their places to take a bow. Nancy bumped into George.
“Ow, sorry!” Nancy giggled.
“Wasn't that awesome?” George said breathlessly.
Bess ran up to them. “That was so much fun,” she said. “I think we should all be dancers when we grow up!”
“Dancer-detectives,” George said, nodding. “We'll solve mysteries during the day and dance on stage at night!”
Mr. McGuire stepped out from one of the stage wings. His usually serious-looking face was glowing with excitement. “Places, everyone!” he said in a loud whisper. “It's time to take your bows.”
“I can't believe it's over!” Bess gasped.
Nancy took her place. So did George, Bess, and the other dancers. After a few seconds, the curtain swished open. Nancy was dazzled. Her eyes took a minute to focus because the stage lights were so bright, and the auditorium was dark.
Everyone was clapping like mad. Nancy tried to make out her father and Hannah in the audience. She finally spotted them. Her father was holding a bouquet of flowers and a big stuffed teddy bear. They were for Nancy!
Then Mr. Drew and the whole audience stood up. This was a standing ovation, which meant that the people really, really liked the ballet.
Nancy took her bow along with the other dancers. After a moment, Andrea swept out from the wing of the stage and took a special bow, since she was Cinderella. The crowd clapped even more loudly. Andrea looked so pretty. Her Cinderella slippers glittered brightly under the stage lights.
The curtain closed, then opened again. The audience just kept clapping. Nancy turned to look at George and Bess and grinned. They grinned back.
The Clue Crew had done it again!
Nancy, Bess, and George's Ballerina Finger Puppets
Nancy, Bess, and George love to put on a show of their own with these cute ballerina finger puppets. You can too!
You will need:
White posterboard
Pencil
Scissors
Markers
Construction paper or wrapping paper
Glue
Fabric scraps
Colored (not clear) fingernail polish
Glitter, small rhinestones (optional)
*Draw the outline of a ballerina on the posterboard with the pencil. Just draw the ballerina's head, torso, and armsâno legs. Her head and torso together should be about as tall as the length of your hand from your wrist to your knuckles. Her arms can be posed like ballerina armsâout to the side, over her head, or one arm up and one arm to the side. You decide!
*Cut out your ballerina shape with the scissors. Near the bottom of the torso, cut out two legholes for your fingers to go through. (Your fingers will be the ballerina's legs!)
*Use the markers to draw her eyes, nose, and mouth. You can make her smiling or seriousâor even mean-looking, like Cinderella's wicked stepmother!
*Use the construction paper or wrapping paper to create her hair and leotard. Sketch the hair and leotard with the pencil, then cut them out with scissors, and glue them onto your posterboard ballerina. Another option: You
can use markers to draw her hair and leotard instead.
*Use the fabric scraps to create her tutu (which is a fancy French word for a ballet skirt). Cut a triangle shape that would be the right size for a skirt; then trim one corner of the triangle so it can be her waist. Glue the tutu onto your posterboard ballerina.
*If you want, you can glue glitter or small rhinestones onto her leotard or tutu (or even her hair).
*Paint the fingernails of your middle finger and the finger next to your thumb with a pretty color. Those will be your ballerina's toe shoes! When your fingernails are dry, put those fingers through the two legholes in your ballerina's torso.
It's Time to Dance!
Drape a pretty scarf or other cloth over a table, the back of a chair, or other hard surface for your ballerina's “stage.” Then put on a CD of classical music like
The Nutcracker
by Tchaikovsky or
A Midsummer Night's Dream
by Mendelssohnâor whatever music you and your ballerina feel like grooving to.
The More the Merrier
Invite your friends over to make ballerina finger puppets with you. Then you can all put on a show together! If you want to make finger puppets from the Cinderella ballet, you can use these instructions to make a fancy Cinderella, a fairy godmother, or even mice!
How Did They Do Leaps and Jumps in THAT?
In the early days of ballet, dancers' skirts came all the way down to the floor. But eventually, dancers wanted costumes that would show off their steps and make it easier for them to move around. In the early 1700s, dancers started wearing ballet skirts above their ankles. Over the next three hundred years, the ballet skirts continued to get shorter and shorter.
Read all the books in the
Blast to the Past
series!
#1 Lincoln's Legacy
#2 Disney's Dream
#3 Bell's Breakthrough
#4 King's Courage
#5 Sacagawea's Strength
#6 Ben Franklin's Fame
Coming Soon:
#7 Washington's War
