Plie, Shuffle Ball Change

And the extracurriculars have begun!  Anna took ballet and tap this year and loved it.  I was particularly excited about this since I danced for 13 years, starting at age 3.  Watching her brought back a lot of memories from when I danced, overall I felt all warm and fuzzy inside.

She was in a class with her friend Audrey and it was a hoot seeing their progress through the year.  I have a lot of respect for teachers of little children - attempting to organize the chaos that is 12 three-year-olds, all while trying to teach them choreography...phew.  Each week they would have "homework" from their dance teacher (Miss Sheena); some weeks it would be a particular dance step to work on while other weeks it was an instruction like, "let's work on not blowing raspberries in class next week."  Ahh little ones.

The entire year culminated in "the recital", and as much as I tried, I couldn't get Anna to show me more than one or two steps of her routines in the weeks leading up to the big day.  So, I wasn't quite sure what to expect.

Gramma Turner came for a visit the weekend of the recital, which was very special for Anna.  And for me - it was fun doing all of the things with Anna that I remember my mom doing with me before a recital.  Like taming Anna's hair into a bun with gobs of gel.  I vividly remember my mom fixing my hair each year, and the excitement of wearing makeup for the performance.

Leading up to the recital Anna seemed a little nervous...or as she put it, "my tummy feels funny".  A few times during the weekend, when we would mention the recital, she would say, "I don't think we need to go to that."

But, when the time came to get preened and primped, she was eager and willing.  And once we arrived and she found her class, she was ready.  We dropped her off backstage and then eagerly headed to our seats for the big show (which we had heard would be 2+ hours long, so we knew we were in for the long haul)...

And her class did not disappoint.  They were a sweet group of tiny girls doing their best, and anyone who didn't crack a smile at their performance has to be a scrooge.  For the record, they danced to Blue Skies and Baby Love.

The day after the recital Anna asked if she could dance on the big stage again because she "really liked it".  So, here's looking forward to next year!

The Baby Love tap routine - Anna is third from left. (Video is not great quality!)

Posing pre-show

Anna & Audrey

Me at age 3... :)

This hangs in Anna's room - my first and last pair of ballet shoes.  Gramma Turner made it for her before she was born.  The rose on top is from the bouquet we gave her after the recital...full circle.