Wednesday, June 18, 2014

D-A-N-C-E

There weren't many opportunities this year for me to bring the girls to their weekly dance class.  With a shout of victory, I was able to attend one of their classes last month.  At the dance school, there's a crowded, dark area with three short benches for waiting parents. A mirrored window offers a view into the dance studio.  I was thinking back to the girls' preschool dance class and comparing to now.  I could sense a shift of sorts.  A slight unspoken competition, mainly amongst some of the parents.  The kids are too young or maybe too sheltered to fully comprehend what that means.  Competition teams, which are invite only, won't begin for a few more years but kids are already being primed for placement.  It seems so different from when I was a kid.  (I like to tell those "when I was your age" stories, which we always say we won't do but we all will eventually.)

A few weeks ago, we survived what is now known as "dance recital weekend."  There's a dress rehearsal on Saturday, which ate up a significant amount of time, and the real deal on Sunday.  The girls were again required to wear their hair in two french braids.  Hairspray was my best friend.  We all enjoyed ourselves and the girls were little superstars.  I'm really proud of them for their efforts and enthusiasm.  They were awesome!

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10 comments:

Unknown said...

Do you foresee any of the girls being interested in competition teams?

When I was a little girl, ballet involved us pretending to be flowers and skipping from one corner of the room to the other. Hmm. Times have changed. :)

You're so pretty, btw. I love the picture of just you and Anna. (I'm pretty sure it's Anna.)

JEN said...

Love these! My almost 6 year has been in dance for the last year. I agree with you, the competition even at such a young age, is crazy! Some of the girls have been in dance for 3 years already at her age. I feel like we are lagging behind!

Megan said...

Those last three photographs made me laugh out loud. Your girls are awesome.

Sarah said...

Allie's interested in competitions. Emily - maybe. Allie's definitely more competitive by nature.

Caroline - thanks for the compliment. Most days, I think I look like a mess.

Anonymous said...

Why does Anna always appear sad in her pictures?

Sarah said...

Anon - which pictures are you referring to? She doesn't look sad to me. She's concentrating on drawing and in the one I'm holding her - she's making a fake pouty face. In all the others, she's smiling - or holding flowers in front of her face on purpose.

Baby Detective Agency said...

I was just thinking, "Aw, this is a nice picture" or "I should mention I like that" and then I reached the last three photos and almost lost it. That Anna slays me.

And from a long-time-reader perspective, Anna doesn't look sad. Each of the girls has her own sort of smile, and she particularly looks like she's having a great time in those locker pics.

Anonymous said...

Your girls and you are beautiful! And Anna looks happy as can be!

Katie said...

This is the first post where I think that all of your girls look different. I usually can't tell them apart. They are so cute!

Wendy said...

I love Anna just being so done. Flowers up, then peace she's out :*) <3