Today was a BIG day for Ms Amelia! She had her last day of preschool for the year AND her big ballet dance show! Preschool was a water and ice cream extravaganza. I knew it was going to be tricky to keep her in good spirits for her big performance - I think we did it!
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| The Boston Tea Party girls! Their dance started with a little tea party...with real china. Eek! This one is from the dress rehearsal Wednesday night |
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| Amelia in her dance outfit after dress rehearsal |
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| She was so beautiful in her costume! again, from Wednesday's dress rehersal |
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| Amelia's invented ballet poses - Wednesday dress rehearsal |
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| Another Amelia creation from the Wednesday dress rehearsal |
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| Last day of 3 year old bee room preschool |
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| On the front step with her backpack. Will she put it on? No. |
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| Back to more ballet poses |
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| Gemma running away from me |
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| Amelia the night of the show |
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| Amelia at home right before the dance show |
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| Amelia's class during the awards portion of the show |
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| Grandpa Heidt and Amelia (with a William bomb in the back) |
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Grandpa Heidt drove in for the big dance show all the way from Minnesota - what a special treat! If you asked me to drive 7 hours for a dance routine under 3 minutes, I would have said no. Lucky for us, Grandpa thought that sounded like fun!
I was so proud of Amelia's hard work on preparing for the dance show. We practiced every day, several times a day. She knew the routine by heart (and so did our whole family. Even Gemma could do parts of the ballet routine). When her song started, William started singing along and Gemma got so excited she started yelling. It sounded a lot like, "Go Amelia". John and I chanted the moves under our breath. Which was hard, because we were holding our breath throughout the whole routine. She was flawless. She showed no fear and hit most of her steps. She didn't smile, but she also didn't cry and she clearly wasn't afraid. I'd like to share it here, but the dance teacher has asked us not to post on the internet. So I won't. But, I wish I could. Because I am so very proud.
When she was done dancing, I was so relieved. I have been very stressed about the dance show. I was worried she would be scared. Or refuse to go on stage. Or fall. Or forget the steps. Or cry. And that wasn't all. The preparation for the dance show has revealed I have a few hang ups and insecurities I wasn't aware of until now.
The ballet teacher is strict (as one would expect, and then no more) and has a list a mile long of rules* for the dance show. One rule was hair was to be in a bun. No bangs are allowed. (hang up alert.). I don't do my own hair. Ever. In all seriousness, I do not comb or brush my hair. I run my fingers through it and most days it ends up in a ponytail or some other quick arrangement that prevents the baby from yanking on it and keeps it out of my eyes. For some reason, a bun felt like someone asking me to quick do some calculus. I have never had a calculus class. So, I did what anyone in the day and age does. I turned to youtube and watched several informative videos on putting hair in a bun. This helped, but the mere thought of a bobby pin would still make my heart race and palms sweat. This wasn't something I could screw up. It had to be perfect for my girl. Lots of things could potentially go wrong with a dance performance, but it wasn't going to be my fault. I did not want to be the responsible party for ruining her dance show.
The list of rules also called for light stage makeup - nothing heavy (hang up alert). Whaaaaat? I wear chapstick and occasionally mascara along with under eye concealer for those dark, dark circles. When asked, the teacher clarified she would like some pink blush (or whatever color I had on hand. HA!), some red lipstick (not pink, purple, orange, coral, or other color. Just use the plain red I have in my collection. HAA again!), and some light eye makeup.
To sum it up, I survived and faced down my fears of not having it just right for my girl. It turned out right and she fit in with the other little girls. Amelia was delighted by the number of "practice runs" I required to develop my confidence. This girl will happily wear obscene amounts of makeup every day of the week. Not that I will let her.
*No flash photography, no video recording on ground level (balcony only), no posting video on internet, no glitter, no perfume, no nail polish, tights must match dance shoe, assigned shoes must be worn. All students must remain backstage for the entirety of the show. Rules. Gotta love them.
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