&letterheadFabulous

performance

TO THE EDITOR: We saw "The Nutcracker" performance by the North Country Ballet Ensemble at the Hartman Theatre. It was fabulous!

The enormous collaborative endeavor of guest choreographers, student and professional dancers, costuming, technical and production staffing under the professional and capable artistic direction of Deborah Guibord-Stay is nothing short of amazing and speaks volumes about the talent, skill, experience, and wonderful community spirit in this town. This was not a small effort -- there were 50+ in the cast with more than 45 trained in Plattsburgh at Guibord's North Country School of Ballet! It was truly refreshing to see the creativity and grace expressed so elegantly in this Christmas classic.

The opening act set the stage for a fine performance that just kept getting better. The battle scene with King Mouse and the incredibly cute other mice, soldiers, and Nutcracker was great fun and led right into the Snow Scene with the first professional dancer's appearance. Surrounded by the local dancers, it was difficult to separate the professional from the students because they all complemented each other so beautifully. In the Land of Sweets, the dancers really showed their love of ballet as they performed their individual yet group parts one right after the other engaging the crowd in laughter and a lot of clapping.

Seeing Claire watch and react to each of the scenes made us think back on many wonderful Christmases as children and then, the finale! It was special, dramatic, sharp, and well-executed!

Everyone should see and experience what we saw in this little town of Plattsburgh -- an incredibly well-performed, communal holiday celebration that kicks off the season in great style. This was a night made of memories! Thanks Plattsburgh!

Denis and Peggy Soucy

Woodbridge, Va.

&letterheadStirring

presentation

TO THE EDITOR: I am writing this letter as a community member as well as a future nurse. I am a student at Plattsburgh State University that attended the Rick Stoddard presentation, "The Burning Truth." For those unable to attend this presentation, Rick's wife, Marie, died at the age of 46 from lung cancer. She smoked cigarettes for 34 years. Rick's presentation was an emotional experience, as well as an informative one. He talked about how tobacco companies target children and adolescents through advertising and the media.

A video was shown of a man that worked for one of the tobacco companies blatantly stating that people who use tobacco products and get cancer is only a mere coincidence. As a nursing student, I have come across many patients in the hospital who are suffering from tobacco-related illnesses as a result of starting to smoke at a young age. Rick's Web site, www.rickstoddard.com, provides a vast amount of information regarding the importance of prevention and consequences of smoking. I encourage everyone, regardless of whether you smoke or not, to visit his site.

Kaley Boire

Plattsburgh State University nursing student