Dance recital, Part 2, is in the books.
Last June, at just two-and-a-half years old, my granddaughter was on stage at the Gallo Center for a roughly one-minute performance. She and a few other two-somethings had learned a few basic dance moves to that fan-favorite ‘Baby Shark’ song. OK, maybe not a fan favorite but she liked it when she was two. I was amazed then that she could not only remember the dance but also perform it when the bright lights started to shine.
Fast forward a year; this latest performance saw Lorelei at three-and-a-half taking part in a pre-ballet performance, utilizing moves such as the plié and the tendu. What was also different this year, her group didn’t take the stage until after intermission. Last year they were the second or third to perform in the show. So that meant this time she was in one of the rooms backstage for well over an hour while the first act played out. They do have parent volunteers and dance studio staff there to keep the young dancers occupied and surprisingly, she did quite well. Trying to keep her contained is not an easy thing so kudos to the staff and volunteers that achieved that.
Lorelei was a ‘line leader’ for her pre-ballet group and, again, seemed to have no problem performing, with one evening show during the week and an afternoon show on the weekend.
She also decided, pretty late in the game, that she wanted to take part in the finale, an option for all the dancers in the show. She had to learn more moves for that as well; there was a Disney theme for the entire show and she had a blast in the finale. She got to wear fancy Mickey Mouse ears, do a little bit of footwork and was on stage with dozens of dancers of all ages. The ending was a ‘throw your hands up, throw your head back’ move as balloons came down from the ceiling on stage and she nailed it. She already wants to do tap dancing for next year. I’ll keep you posted.
As far as the rest of her summer, she is doing swimming lessons this month and does pretty much everything the instructor asks and then promptly runs, sobbing, to my daughter after the lesson. She complains that she “can’t do hard things” when it is very obvious from the lessons that she is doing just that. One recent session included her swimming from one side of the pool to the other, using her strong leg kicks and then turning over into her float position on her back to catch her breath. She wants to do everything so fast, though; the instructor had to slow her down when she was in her float so she could actually breathe before she flipped back into the water.
My granddaughter basically has one speed: fast. About the only time she wants to move slowly is when it’s time to get ready for bed.
Except the day earlier this month when she had her first swimming lesson of the summer, followed by a doctor’s appointment, then a full dress rehearsal for the dance recital, a rehearsal that went a couple of hours. By the time she and my daughter got home, dinner was ready and Lorelei literally sat in her chair, took one bite of food and nodded off even before chewing.
We had to wake her up to eat and make sure she didn’t go face first into her plate.
Somehow, she managed to get most of her food eaten and bedtime that night was the smoothest it has ever been; no fuss, no fight.
Too bad we can’t get to that point without an exhausting day beforehand.
Maybe someday…
Marg Jackson is editor of The Oakdale Leader, The Escalon Times and The Riverbank News. She may be reached at mjackson@oakdaleleader.com or by calling 209-847-3021.
