To complete a year of firsts with my oldest daughter, Friday and Saturday I got to experience a dance recital as a mom, instead of as a dancer. I have to say, it was a lot more stressful on this side of the stage.
Recital week kicked off with rehearsal on Wednesday. I happened to have a meeting about a half hour before her first performance so I relied on my mom to get her there and ready on time. The night before I braided her hair so it wouldn’t be a bother and could just be put up in a bun for performance time. All of her costumes were hung up and ready in the travel bag and shoes were packed to go.
My sister wasn’t able to come to either recital so she tagged along and watched rehearsal, which made my tiny dancer feel like a rock star. I arrived after the first dance but in time to see her tap and ballet performance. Picture half a dozen 3 and 4 year olds dressed up like Belle from “Beauty and the Beast” skipping across the stage and twirling with their hands in the air — it was the cutest.
I was so proud to see her up there, pointing her toes and shuffling her feet and it was only rehearsal. After practicing the final bow we headed home. She was pretty excited about everything, which made me hopeful for the upcoming performance.
Thanks to a bout of pink eye with my youngest daughter, I was home Friday to get her ready for the big performance. I thought I was doing really good on time, getting her in the bath two hours before we had to leave. I once again put her hair in braids and applied sparkle eye shadows, which she loved. But it never fails that in the final minutes I am scrambling to finish up getting everything to the car and making myself look presentable.
We got to the school in plenty of time and after finding her room and getting her costume on, she was my little ballerina ready to hit the stage. Without a second thought she went to play with her friends and I took my seat in the audience.
I enjoyed watching the dances, as it is something I normally didn’t get to do as a performer. Finally, it was time for her to come out and do her tap routine to “Mr. Golden Sun.” The girls did great and put on quite a show. Nobody cried or just stood on stage, which is a big plus for their age group. At the conclusion, they got a big round of applause and waved as they headed off the stage.
Her next dance was ballet and only required a shoe change and adding a tutu to her costume. She was pretty pumped up, full of adrenaline and a little tough to handle but listened well enough and was ready when it was her turn to go. Because “Beauty and the Beast” is my favorite Disney movie, I was so excited for her to dance and as she tip-toed out of the stage I was as proud of her as I have ever been.
Her final routine was tumbling to an “Aladdin” ensemble. It is her favorite dance to do and her favorite costume, since she looks like Princess Jasmine. She did front rolls, cartwheels and the crab walk across the stage, finishing off with all of the girls holding hands and doing a group front roll.
At the end of the show she made her way out on stage to do the final bow, which she thought was the best part of the whole thing. She got flowers from us and her grandparents and felt so special. She was on a princess high for the rest of the night. The next afternoon was an encore performance that went better than the first and at the conclusion we had her first recital in the books.
I can’t thank her dance teacher Lainy and everyone at Steppin’ Out Dance Studio in Monroe enough for the great experience she had during the year and I’m already looking forward to next year and having two little ballerinas in dance.
Contact Jamee A. Pierson
at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534
or jpierson@newtondailynews.com