Dance Recitals 2011

Oh, we had a fun and busy week last week. It was dance recital time! We've done this twice before, but this year we added Anlynn to the mix. We were eating and sleeping dance routines for 4 long days. To some that would have been awful. But to me? I loved it!

Anlynn was in ballet and tap this year. She was an adorable ballerina! I wasn't sure how Anlynn would handle the costume changes and big crowds. She was a pro! She's watched big sis do it and knew what to expect. She was great! Amana was in tap, jazz, and ballet this year. It was incredible watching how much she as improved since beginning dance lessons at age 5. She really knew the moves and even smiled a lot...something kiddos sometimes forget, believe it or not!

My favorite dance of Amana's was her ballet routine. She was lovely and graceful. You could tell she loved it. After dress rehersal, I told her how proud I was of her and how beautiful she looked. She said, "I was so proud because I knew I was dancing for God." Melts a mama's heart!

Anlynn's tap routine was to a cartoon theme song about trains. Isn't she a cute conductor? And I already know I am in trouble when this girl hits high school. Yikes, this girl is so gorgeous!

The girls were in three recitals. The first one was by far the most nerve wracking. We arrived at the theater 45 minutes before show time to get ready. Amana went to get dressed for her first number (number 4 in the program) and realized she'd left half her costume at home...in Minden...30 minutes away! Lige raced home to retrieve it, I tried to console a crying Amana, and Anlynn pranced around with pre-show excitement. I'm thankful I had a "good mommy moment." I could have reacted like a crazy person, yelling and angry. I could have shamed her for being irresponsible. But I talked calmly and honestly: daddy would do his best, we would pray and ask God to get him back safely and in time, and if he didn't she would have to skip the first dance. We got her as ready as we could without the missing skirt. Then we waited. Lige pulled into the parking lot and threw the skirt at me. I ran in and helped Amana into the skirt. And then they lined up her class to go backstage! Phew! Lige drove fast, I'm not gonna lie. :) And we even made it to our seats before the first number was over.

The second night was better: we had all pieces of all costumes. Only thing missing that night was Amana's partner for ballet...it devastated her, even though we knew in advance she was going to be gone. She cried as she danced, and had her head hanging low. Definitely not the proud dancer we had seen the night before. Then she cried again during her tap number because she and a friend ended up in the wrong spots. Even though her tears broke my heart (and okay, if I'm totally honest, annoyed me a little) she kept dancing and knew each step. That was good.

The girls were happy to have some important fans in the crowd. Nanny came to two performances and Grandma and Grandpa Peacock drove all the way from Iowa to come on Friday night. And I love that Lige is a daddy who is happy to see through all three performances. We got sitter for the boys for each performance, and it was the best decision! It's too long of a night for little boys to sit through. It would have been miserable, lol!

I love my beautiful dancers and I am proud to be their stage mom!