Dance Recitals and Decisions

Miss M in her Dance Recital T Shirt all ready for the Friday evening Performance- Dance Bag

Miss M's Dance Recital over the weekend was beautiful. She had a smile on her face the entire time and performed with grace and talent. It was joy to go to a Dance Recital and not feel like covering your eyes in embarrassment or shaking your head in confusion over why small girls had to be dressed in such skimpy costumes or dance in suggestive ways.

This picture is a little blurry, but it's from the dress rehearsal of the Finale and it was so dark in the auditorium. That's my only complaint of the whole of event; I brought knitting to do at the Dress Rehearsal and it was too dark to do it.

There was none of that at this Recital. It was all graceful dancing that showed off the dancer's talent with fun, challenging, and creative ballet/tap/jazz moves. One of the dance teachers makes/creates all of the costumes and not only were they adorable but, each costume captured the theme of the dance and music. Miss M's costumes were fun, colorful and "covered" what needed to be covered.

Miss M and Miss A backstage. Miss A did not seem to miss all the hubbub of a Dance Recital now that she has retired from Dancing. She was a great sport though and watched every dance at rehearsal and the real thing. What a great sister.

Plus, we now have cute leotards to wear for dance this summer and fall plus she also scored a Justice Jean Skirt and Justice White Jean Jacket that she can also wear this fall. Bonus!

Isn't this the cutest little costume. M wore a cute black leotard under the jacket and tan tights. It was perfect for their dance to "Respect."

I think my husband enjoyed not only watching M in her element, but the fact that the entire recital was about two hours. That's almost 1/2 as long as last year!!

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Watching Miss M dance and get up on stage, you can almost feel her excitement. Dancing really is her "thing." She's graceful, a beautiful presence on stage, and she looks likes she is loving every minute of the experience.

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Now, we just wait to see what Miss M decides about the future. She's contemplating returning to competitive dancing. The idea of twice a week dancing at the studio and more "recital" and "competitions" gets her excited. However, this is also the fall that Miss M moves up to the Middle School and all its opportunities there for after school events, new friends and more homework. It would also mean the end of Softball. She can't do it all and that is one of the many things that would have "go" if more dance was in the picture.

Flowers and Dance Recitals just go together. Yeah Dad for picking this cute little Purple Bouquet up for the Dancer. She still looked radiant after all the dancing. Good Thing Nana and Papa invited us over for Chocolate Pie to celebrate. You'd hate to waste this pretty smile.
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Decisions. Never fun or easy. It's hard not to just tell Miss M what to do or which way to go, but we know that in the end she has all the tools to make the decision, and she needs to learn to make these tough choices. Choices hurt sometimes, but learning to make them and live with them are all a part of growing up.
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Dance it's a part of the fabric of Miss M's life and I'm anxious to see what the next piece of the fabric looks like.