Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Umm...about dance...

It's kind of hard to dance in one of these!

It seems as though Sydney fractured a bone in her foot last Thursday at dance while trying to help a friend with one of those jumpy, twirly things with a French name. She came down on her left foot with her right foot and told me she heard a pop.  We iced it all weekend and kept her off of it but there was still some swelling on Monday so off we went to the doctor for x-rays. There is a small fracture and that explains why after 5 days there is still some swelling and pain.  Never any bruising though.  She will be out for several weeks and she is very sad about it because dance is her favorite thing in the whole world.  Please pray for a speedy recover so she can get back in her tutu soon.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Thought for the day...

My husband just asked me if I knew there was a such thing as men having menopause!  I said "yes" trying to ignore it.

Now I'm thinking that I can't have anything to myself!

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Dance! Something Old is New Again!

Last month Sydney started her fifth year of dance. In our house the beginning of dance is as exciting as the new school year and new school supplies. Five years...hard to believe but it's true.  This year she is back to the more traditional...meaning tap, ballet and jazz.  Last year she only wanted to do jazz and Hip Hop...begged me to take hip hop...and she hated it.  Hip Hop is really hard because the moves are not fluid, nor are they natural! Half way through the year she was really missing tap and ballet. Let's go through what is involved in taking dance classes shall we?

tights
ballet shoes
tap shoes...the girl loves her some tap shoes
jazz shoes
hair snood (don't ask...it's one of those bun cover thingys...she wanted one with rhinestones and was thrilled on the first night when the teacher called her out and told everyone that this is how a dancer should wear their hair! She was thrilled beyond belief and the next week several girls were sporting snoods)
dance bag...I have never bought one until now
leggings...seems a little eighties to me but oh well
new teacher this year
2 and a half hours of dance straight from 6:00 to 8:30.
let's not forget the arm and leg each month for tuition

A new dance year also means 2 performances...one at Christmas (usually at the mall) and a recital (many hours long) at the end of the year! Being backstage mom...really fun and challenging helping little sweaty girls into spandex tights and costumes sometimes up to 18 girls in 15 minutes.  Then there are the costumes...some years they are darling, other years they are very ugly! So far we have had...baby pink, red and black, purple and black, hot pink and neon orange for the "Just a Little Crush" dance last year...best dance ever! For the Christmas show they usually wear jazz pants and a Christmas sweatshirt, socks, and hairbows...nice considering it's cold and nobody wants their daughter in a typical dance costume running around the mall! This year Sydney has crystal rudolph earrings to wear...if I can ever get her back into earrings:)

How much does Sydney love dance? Well, she didn't quit when Taryn did, she was offered the chance to take gymnastics with Taryn and turned it down flat! The fact that she would turn down any chance to be with Taryn tells me how much she loves her dance.

The new teacher will be focusing on technique and vocabulary so she will be learning a lot and she is totally whipped when she gets out of class. Oh and there is homework nightly!  Mrs. Mindy told them to be sure to eat dinner and bring water and a snack or they will not make it through her class!  Sydney loves her classes and her new teacher...this is wonderful because there are dance teachers who are not nurturing at all.  Luckily her new teacher is the mother of 5 and loves dance with a passion and loves the kids!

All dressed for the first night

What a ham!

My favorite dance picture of all time...2 years ago backstage at recital