Performance

 

 

 

 

L danced on stage today for the first time since she started ballet about six months ago. She loved everything about it--the costume, the preparation, the comraderie with her dance buddies, watching the other performers and then there was the dancing itself.

The venue was an outdoor family festival at our community center and it was really a trial run for the students at our dance academy before taking the real stage at next weekend's spring recital.

So there we were beneath blazing noontime sunshine, waiting for our turn in the show, which, of course, was running about 30 minutes behind schedule. I was getting pretty annoyed with the crowd of overbearing dance mommies and daddies and was starting to feel slightly nauseated by the aroma wafting from a vat of sauerkraut at the food booth behind me--wondering if this had been worth the hassle. After all, L has been practicing this performance for months and has performed it for family and friends already. Did we really need this extra performance?

To be honest, I've had my doubts about the value of any recital at all this spring--forking over the cash for costumes and tickets and then filling our calendar with photo day and dress rehearsals. L is only 4 after all, and she has her whole life to learn about performance and dedication to her craft. But when L took the stage today, all my misgivings drifted aside as I watched a very determined little girl turn into the most elegant pre-schooler ballerina I've ever seen--bathed in her very own imaginary spotlight. Tears pooled between my cheecks and sunglasses as I tried to steady my camera and drink in her special moment all at once. In five minutes, it was over and it had been fantastic.

For L, today's mini performance meant doing something extraordinary with the support of her family and friends and she got to do it with other girls her age--something L longs to have more of in her life. For a little girl who won't have a pre-school experience, this type of showcase for all that L has been working on both inside and outside the dance studio is, I think, an important confidence builder. It's an experience I cannot create for her at home.

So bring on recital week and the zoo that will no doubt usher us into the big day next Saturday. I'll try to be a supportive and gracious ballet mommy. That is, afterall, what I've become--a ballet mommy. But a nice, well-adjusted one I'd like to think.