Wednesday, June 12, 2013

I'm Just a Broadway Baby

Or as Emily sometimes sings, "My mom's a tax return lady."

(In the interest of actually finishing something, I'm going to break this up into two posts.)

Okay, so I find the girls' dance recital to be so stressful.  Well, mostly the dress rehearsal for the recital.  And not in a Dance Moms sort of way either.  I think it's because I have three to take care of and because I don't bring them to class each week, I feel a bit out of the loop.  As with last year, their hair needed to be in 2 french braids.  That takes me 1/2 hour from start to finish.  And a half a can of hair spray.  And then there's the feather that needs to be pinned in for tap and removed without messing up the french braids so the crown can be pinned on for ballet.

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The dress rehearsal is fast paced so you need to be on your feet and ready to go.  And be sure to have the elastic in the tap shoes instead of the ties or someone may yell at you.  Rich and I tend to be opposites when it comes to these sort of things.  I'll be rushing around yelling,  "Are the right shoes on? When do they need to be on stage? WHAT DO I DO WITH THIS FREAKING FEATHER?" while Rich is asking if anyone wants a snack.  (Not really, but kind of.)  I didn't want to get yelled at.

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We survived and the girls were fabulous.  The rehearsal lasted for about an hour and half on Saturday.  You can leave once your numbers are complete.  The recital on the other hand was a different story.  That was three hours on Sunday.  We were on our third day of 90 degree temperatures and our schools are not air conditioned.  And the windows in the cafeteria only open about two inches so yeah, it was like being in an oven for three hours.  I'll take it over winter though.  Any day!

In all seriousness, I'm so lucky to be able to do this.

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(I love this next photo because I think it's all photojournalistic and you know that's what I like to think I am.)

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The girls performed in two tap dances and one ballet.  The first tap number consisted of all the kids in all the different tap classes.  (I did take pictures but I'm not posting any.)  One advantage to being short - you are placed in the front of three rows.  Only parent/adult per child is allowed at the rehearsal and this is the only opportunity to take pictures.  No photography is allowed during the recital.  Or someone will definitely yell at you.

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Up next - recital day!

9 comments:

Debbie said...

They are so stinkin' cute, Sarah.
And your pictures of them are so great. Makes so excited to go to Bailey's show next week...Unfortunately, no pictures at dress rehearsal, and no flash at the show. So, really no pictures of any worth. Ha.
Thanks for sharing these.

Sarah said...

Thank you! That's a bummer that you can't take pictures at rehearsal. The stage lights should be enough that you wouldn't need flash but you would need a really good zoom lens. Either way - it's so fun to watch them perform, isn't it?

Emily said...

I don't think I realized how tiny the girls are until I saw these photos with them standing next to other kids. But you're right, it means they will be in the front row and, when they are older it will mean that they get picked for partner work. It pays to be short if you're a dancer!

They look great in their costumes! I can't wait until my girls are old enough for dance.

KimB said...

So cute! We are working up to recital as well. Daughter is in ballet and jazz and boys are in breakdancing/hip hop. Husband will take the 3 kids to recital tomorrow night (during rush hour). But it will all be worth it on Saturday at the recital, seeing our kids on stage.

OMG A, A & E are tiny!

Curious, did you get approval from the other girls' parents to post their pictures? Not sure how that works. It's good that you covered them with your blog name. I would love to see pictures of my kids in someone's blog but some people don't want that.

Sarah said...

Posting pictures on the internet is tricky. If I'm taking a picture of kids on purpose - for example, they are over the house for a play date and I snap a few pictures of the kids together - I wouldn't post those w/out permission b/c they were taken with purpose. If it's in a public place and the kids are in the photo b/c there's no other way around it - no, I don't ask. (Although in this case, I'm almost positive that the parents wouldn't care.) I did the watermark on them to give some privacy and prevent stealing and cropping. I also won't post names and locations.

Bree at Clarity Defined said...

Love these! Takes me back to my dance days. Can you hear "your girls are so cute!" enough??? :)

I love those costumes, especially the ability to transition from tap to ballet. I know how much dance costumes can be so that versatility (and still have it look awesome) is great.

Sarah said...

I don't think any parent can hear that enough! I was very happy that the costumes transitioned from tap to ballet and looked good too.

Unknown said...

They are so adorable! This makes me so excited for when my girls are old enough to start dance! ~Jenn

www.twobytwomom.com

Christi said...

They are adorable! I really like how their costumes switched from tap to ballet by changing the skirt and head piece. What a clever idea since costumes are so expensive. Makes it easier back stage I bet too.