Let's start with this. I love dance. I. Love. Dance. Dance was my thing. The thing I loved doing most.
Deep down I wanted dance lessons to be Madeline's favorite thing on the planet. They were not. There were arguments each week about going to dance lessons. The "season" was too long. Lessons started at the beginning of school in August and ended last weekend in mid-June. It was too much for us.
Add to it that her class was in the middle of dinner-making and dinner-eating. And she was adjusting to the exhaustion of all day at kindergarten. It was not an entirely pleasant weekly experience. I might have entertained quitting, but we were already committed. And, if I'm being honest, I wanted her to love it. Love it. I wanted her to love it like I do.
So we muscled through.
If the actual lessons were not her favorite, the recital was a hit. Add make-up, flowers, and a costume and dance lessons were totally worth it.
She loved the recital.
Did you know that watching a sweet six-year-old do a tap dance to Be Our Guest and a ballet to Whistle While You Work could bring tears to your eyes? I didn't either. And I was kind of shocked.
She was confident, prepared, poised, and smiling. You should see her shuffle-steps and her plies. Amazing. My heart was full.
We're exploring options for next year. Maybe we'll try a smaller dance studio with a recital in May in a neighboring town. Maybe we'll try tumbling. I believe the words I told Darrin a few months ago were, "Remind me that we are NOT doing dance lessons next year."
After the recital he sees my face and says quietly, "We're doing this again next year, aren't we?" Love that man. He knows when to remind me and when not to remind me.
After the show I told her my favorite part. Her smiling face.
My baby girl's beautiful, smiling face.
A smaller dance studio might be the answer to your weekly problems. As I have told you, I always looked for "smaller" because the chances of one earning a living at dance (or sports, etc.) are "slim to none." It is good exercise and good socialization. You enjoyed tumbling and that is something that can be done outside in the yard. You started gymnastics in kindergarten -- or was it first grade?!? It is also good exercise. Again, I used a small gymnastics class. When you were afraid of the heights of doing gymnastics on parallel bars and the balance beam, we switched to dance. You were in the third grade when you started dance. You also did not have a new baby...which can tend to complicate things in the mind of a five year old. I think she did fine. She looked fine -- and happy. She is a beautiful child ("inside and outside") with a new brother, a new school experience, and a little sister... When we gave her the three bouquets of flowers she said, "Are these all for me?" Priceless. She had no idea that a recital was "a big deal!!!"
ReplyDeleteL.,
M.