Curtain Call

My daughter and her dance class did a wonderful job at their recent dance recital.

And after the money...and the waiting...and the money...and the waiting, I am really glad they did!

Since her first Little Gym class(my personal favorite due to their strong take on developmentally-appropriate gymnastics classes and activities) at the age of 3, we have tried to take the easy-going approach. She loved gymnastics, but wanted to try dance at the age of 4. Frankly, Mommy wanted to see her little girl in cute tutu's and tights as well! So, we did that for a year. And of course, she was precious at it.

In year 5, she informed me that she did not want to do dance, but wanted to do gymnastics again. No problem. She actually has the physique of a gymnast, so I wondered what two years of development would allow her to do this time around. She did great and had a wonderful time.

This past fall, we talked about dance again. She brought it up, but I did not discourage her. However, from the beginning, it just felt like an odd fit. Part of it was the class. It was a large class and the communication regarding anything was rather poor. Her class was an afternoon one, which occurred AFTER her day at school. The other unfortunate thing was, it was not quite right after school, so there were many days that she simply did not want to leave the house after coming home. But I am one to have a child stick out their commitment, so we made it through. The days I got to watch her, she looked like she was doing good. However, often, she would complain how much her legs hurt. My theory was growing pains, but hard to explain to a 6-year old!

Something happened at the recital that I found fascinating. Once up on stage, she SHINED! I was so proud of her. And she even said that she had fun! She loved watching the other classes perform during the show while she waited (and waited!) for her next number. We talked later about how well she had done and how much fun she had dancing. Her thoughts about doing it again are now wavering. She really wants to do gymnastics, but thinks she might want to dance too.

I feel my bank account dwindling just thinking about it!

Luckily, there is a place in town that does both. I am going to check it out and see what they offer. I am not one to over-schedule my kids, so I want to see how it would fit with school in the fall. I would really like her to join Girl Scouts, so that would be another commitment to consider.

Our whole concept of "school" will change next year with her being in the 1st grade, 5 days a week. I really loved her 3-day program for the last few years. It was a perfect fit for us. I did look for private school options, but there are really none here. And if my hs friends are nudging me with their mouse right now, no that does not practically fit for us right now either. Truthfully...it was a fleeting thought! Surprised? So was I!! :) Luckily, she will be in a well-regarded, small, independent school district and we will see how it all goes once it starts.

Somehow, I got waaaay of topic!!

Here are some pics of my sweet girl at her recital!

This is her waiting for her jazz number. For some reason, I had the hardest time getting her to cooperate with pictures here and with her ballet outfit! As you can tell from the results!




My ballet princess!


Finally! She found her smile! It must have been her spunky outfit!



Stacey