Today was recital day at Ballet Idaho. Let me start by saying that Katy and Emma were fantastic. That is just my opinion, but it must be said before you think I did not enjoy it! Katy takes Jazz 1, meaning at least one year of that style of dance under her belt, and Emma takes Pre-Ballet 6, meaning you have to be around 6 years old to be in the class. Their costumes were cute(Emma) and jazzy(Katy.) I was able to make a perfect bun for Emma's hair with about 1/2 a cup of hair gel, 15 bobby pins and some ozone-depleting hairspray. It was a vision of shellacked beauty. Katy wore curlers to bed last night and did not complain. Grammy only nearly burnt her with a curling iron and the mascara that got into her eyes did not cause permanent blindness. Emma also wore mascara, but it was difficult to apply as she kept blinking. It was an accomplishment to arrive at the studio looking as good as they did!!
As for the dancing, it is supposed to be the culmination of nearly 9 months of hard work in class. Eric and I have been doing this recital watching since Katy was 3 years old. It is pretty much the same drill every year. We gather to watch the rehearsal a few days before the actual performance. Theoretically, most of the kinks should be worked out by this time. In our experience, that is never the case! We moms look at each other in horror after the one dress rehearsal scheduled knowing full well it will be total chaos at the recital. This year, Emma's class danced the entire rehearsal looking off stage, at the teacher, to figure out what steps or direction to take next. They bumped into each other, went the wrong way and forgot a few moves along the way. Katy's class, dancing to the song "Mamma Mia," also bumped into each other, forgot a few steps and lost an accessory or two. One girl danced in her socks!! At the end of the rehearsal, after we have taken a bit of video and a few pictures, I always sigh and think aloud to Eric about how much that display of talent has cost us this year. We shake our heads and laugh.
The big day arrives and we make it through the above described pre-recital costume/make-up application. We headed over to the studio this afternoon, dropped the girls off at the front desk and walked upstairs to the recital hall. We found a few good seats, read through the program and waited for the performance to begin. It is fun to watch the audience as they arrive. Mostly just families. You have to pay to see the show, usually about 6 bucks a ticket. That keeps out the general public, I am pretty sure. We have never had any takers, outside of family, on the invitation to see the recitals over the past 7 years. Who else is going to pay money to see your kid dance?
The show started at the designated time, no small feat for about 10 different groups of dancers. There were a variety of ages on stage today. The beginning tap students looked to be around 5 years old and the pre-professional girls were teenagers. Emma's class was the seventh group to go on. They danced a polka. It went pretty well until a few girls, Emma included, forgot what to do. Luckily, the ones who knew what to do grabbed the others and tried to set them straight. In the process of recovery, one whole section of the routine was left out. They were so cute, though, and Emma was all smiles. Katy's class was up next. The girls made it look so good. Who wouldn't have fun dancing to an ABBA song? Only one accessory flew off and all the dancers ended up in the final pose. I was so proud of and impressed with my girls!
I may complain or be a bit sarcastic about this day each year, but I truly love watching my girls perform. They are beautiful, confident dancers. They have fun and enjoy the process. What better way is there to spend an hour? It really is time well-spent, even if I am not always sure that it is money well-spent.
