Lining up! They called over head for "Animal Crackers to the stage"
leading the little ones to the stage! A lot like herding cats but we got it done
dress rehearsal night, they were still getting instructions here
more horsing around
Chloe liked the big girl's room
Letting her run her energy off a little
Chloe's buddy Cara, I love that Cara carried her little security blanket around. They look like dolls ready to perform but they are still babies at heart!
Abigail came down to Chloe's dressing area to help me w/ her class, she loved playing with the little ones
Clearly, the Bit was not happy I was still snapping pictures.
what are you going to do? I just love and accept! And I love her an awful lot!
horsing around killing time until they danced again, the Mini Company got our own dressing room and the girls had a blast!
This is Evelyn, these girls frequently get mixed up and accused of being sisters.
The only way to get to our dressing rooms was through the back stage area, so it made for fun pictures to be in the wings all night. That is Abigail in the back of the group
I can't get used to these silly faces they make, but I love her anyway!
Chloe's best buddy Claudia, she absolutely loves her to pieces!
Looking good heading to dinner with MiMi, I love how they matched!
Sweet dance dad!
Such a good picture of Grammie
We ran into some buddies for dinner , the girls loved sitting by themselves
walking back from dinner, heading to show #2!
Mom looks so pretty!!
We were desperate to entertain the girls through the show in our room so we resorted to yoga, one of the mom's is an instructor. They had a blast
Abigail gave teaching yoga a try :)
We got them settled down with some butterfly coloring pages.....phew!
Their company number The Clapping Song. They did a great job
Such a wild crazy weekend of rehearsals and 2 shows, and I'm glad it's all done and went well. Again, I was so proud of all the dancers through the big day. We were in 6 dances between our 2 kids but so many kids were in so many more. By the end of the 2 days we were all pretty done. Chloe lasted until 5 songs from the end of the show and slept on mom's lap for the finale. It was such a special night and all those kids and parents are really amazing how they pull all that together. Chloe did amazing for her first dance recital I was so relieved. For rehearsals she rebelled and didn't dance when she got confused on the large stage and couldn't locate her spot. She walked out and slumped her shoulders and did what we call 'monkey arms' through the whole song. The teacher just called from the side of the stage..."Chloe!..Dance!" but she didn't like not knowing where to be. Clearly, it was important to her. By the second run through they walked her out to show her where she was supposed to be and she finally did her number.
On the day of the performance I held my breath from the wings gripping the arm of my fellow dance mom hoping she would dance at least a little. The child is only 3 yrs old so if she didn't do anything but walk out there and do monkey arms everyone would laugh and be entertained but I wanted her to have fun and enjoy the experience. Well she did dance. She took our over emphasis on dancing no matter where she stood to mean she could relocate at will to the front row through the song. I guess it was better then her back row spot to her. Who cares it was a memory and she did her thang! I was so proud of her whole class. They were adorable dancing in their huge blue bows to Shirley Temple's Animal Crackers in my soup!
For the evening show we let Brian and Mimi take over Chloe duty and they said she sat content for the rest of the night. Popping up for random numbers she recognized or friends she wanted to cheer on. This worked out good leaving the Bit and me to focus on the homestretch of the event.
Abigail shone too in her numbers. She shook her shimmy and beamed that all American smile as far as she could project it to the audience. She left the stage with her head held high and a spring of pride in her step. As a parent thats all I can ask. I love seeing her confidence build in this. She is having so much fun. She's got a growing network of peers, young and old, teachers and teens. It's helping her grow so much and mature.
We had our low points in the chaos too. I lost track of her at one point in between shows as she bolted about the huge old theater on her own feeling her independence with the older kids. I fought back my motherly urge to blast her with it when I finally found her in one of the lower rooms, sitting head held low in a chair with a teacher telling her "it's ok hunny, we'll find her". I let a little "see!? That's why I told you not to run around here alone like you owned the place, You're only 6!" Once her tears flowed we said our sorrys, grabbed a back vacant hallway and a cupcake to lift our spirits and get our grip again before we headed back hand in hand and rejoined our group. It's so tough to let them grow up a little but make them know they're still a kid. It was a sweet moment and I was proud of her for not letting it spoil her mood or the night.
All in all we had a great day together sharing the madness together. We soaked in the lights and the drama. We shared the nerves and the pride together through the long hours. It was an ebb and flow of emotions and we came out sitting just the 2 of us by ourselves in the balcony for the grand finale. I must admit, I got teary as it drew to a close. The last number wowed me so much my eyes filled up with pride for the other kids. I have really fallen in love with so many of them. They have been so inspiring to watch through the season. They have been so good to our 2 little dancers. Their talent and endurance just made my heart swell. It was a special night. Glad we have a lot more in our future. I know this because when the sun came up 10 hours later both girls had re donned their costumes again and were right back at it in our living room twirling and bouncing off the walls to music. It runs deep in these 2! Brian and I have a long road ahead of this , and we're ok with that!
