You Don't LOOK Like a Ballerina...

Here is some of what Miss Roo has learned in ballet so far this year. I love it. I think starting her at two was fun, but not...productive. I would have totally held off until five knowing what I know now. She loves it now and I'm not surprised. I adore ballet too, but she's a much better dancer than I ever was (duh).

I took ballet at about the age she is now and didn't last more than a few classes. When I was in college it was required course. I remember shopping for ballet slippers at twenty years old. The middle aged lady at the dance store eyed me as I came in. No doubt she thought that the lady with strange unbalanced gait must have taken a wrong turn on the way to the Gap. She watched me approach the ballet slippers shelf in total silence and then her smile appeared. She walked over briskly and asked "Who are you shopping for?" She obviously thought she's cleverly figured out the mystery of the gimp in the dance store. I couldn't help but enjoy her momentary surprised expression when I said me.

She was professional enough as I selected my ballet slippers and purchased them. I wonder if she ever thought about it again? If she imagined me correcting my gait as I left the store ala Kevin Spacey in Usual Suspects. Maybe she imaged me sadly attempting proper technique only to shatter my delusion that I wasn't in fact ever gong to be a professional dancer. All that, I think, is a bit of ego on my part. She certainly thought "how odd" and went back to selling leotards to the graceful people.

It's Not Fair!

I hate unfairness, so much. Ever since childhood, I’ve stubbornly clung to the belief that if you work hard and behave you will subsequently reap only rewards. I used to believe all the bad had already happened in my life so I was “safe”. Wrong again. You can have CP and get hit by a bus (although I don’t recommend it). There is no fairness scale. Anything can happen. Sometimes the blessed are further blessed and the cursed are farther cursed. Sometimes it stinks worse than Mike’s running shoes.

I guess I’m a wee bit oversensitive about it. Like the time in I got a job at an acting camp and not enough kids signed up and they canceled it. Grrr! You see, Roo loves dance class very much. I love that it’s 5min down the road at 3:30 on Tuesdays (and of course that she’s happy). We started with a group of three and they told us more would come. A few weeks ago we had a rough day. Both of the other girls we’re crying and refusing to listen. They ended up cutting class short. I was so angry. Roo had behaved so well until it became distracting (and who could blame her for being distracting by two girls throwing crying fits?). I didn’t want her lumped in with the other two and punished.

That was the day I started considering other options. A group of 3 at this age is trouble. There has to be a few more. That way one kid having a hard time doesn’t throw everyone off. Besides, I was worried that they’d cancel the class and the only other option was on Saturday (BOO!) at 11:00 (Double Boo!). Unfortunately, her old dance studio has their class at 6:15 on Thursday (triple Boo!). I decided we’d wait and see what happened.

Sure enough after two weeks in a row of only Roo showing up I was asked to please bring her Saturdays. She told me it would be temporary until Tuesday filled up and she had every indication it would in a few weeks. Despite the reassurances, skirting nap time on a weekend day with a different teacher sounds like a recipe for stress.

It makes me so mad! It’s not her fault the class is small. She did nothing wrong. It’s not her fault the schedules suck. It’s not her fault that her gimpy mom doesn’t want to commit to driving too far once a week. AAAAAAAHHHHH! What do I do? Discontinuing dance seems like a punishment. Post dinner at the farther studio even if they do have 8 kids in the class is never going to work. Saturdays seem like they’ll be trouble.

I’m exhausted by the end of the week, she’ll miss out on Daddy and big brother quality time and we’re into October when our weekends become super busy. Plus parking will be difficult on Saturdays because there’s a crowd. I’m stamping my feet on her behalf, this stinks. Come on karma, give my sweet girl a break.

Happy Dancey Girl

On the "hurricane that wasn't" day:

The cuteness overwhelms sometimes.

Ok, so that was yesterday. Today was library day! Music time is over now that school's back in session so it was story time. Not to worry they bookend the storytelling with songs though. I goofed and arrived early and barged in on the baby program, but it worked out because we got to "Shake our Sillies Out".

For the the big kids it was farm day today. Riley danced it up! We read Mrs. Wishy Washy while we were waiting for the program to start, but they didn't have any copies for check out, sigh. No worries, I requested it (on my phone!).

Spin around and fall down. Do it again. Seriously though they were doing "Shake Your Body Down", which is a great workout by the way. After that, believe it or not, they settled down for stories. The first one was my favorite, Cock-a-Doodle, Quack Quack. It's about a baby rooster trying to figure out which sound would wake everyone up on the farm. Total crowd pleaser. The other two were pretty lame. She should have listened to me about Mrs. Wishy Washy.

They played some participation games after that. She seems so old when she marches up to put her farmer on the board or calls out the correct number of kitties! She was just sitting up when we started coming to the library for story time, sniff.

After that they danced one more time. It's a wonder she had any dance left in her for dance class.

But she did!

Black Leotards

I've been explaining to my little Rileyrina the Ballerina that today would be the beginning of "big girl" dance class. The last class of summer was last week and the first class of fall is today. Now she's in the 3yr old class. Big girl. Of course none of that means a thing to her except that over the summer they could wear pink leotards and now only black is allowed. So, I've been telling her that when we switch to black leotards she's in the 3yr old class.

It's still ballet/tap combo and it's still Tuesdays with the same teacher so the transition is pretty seamless. She didn't even seem upset about the wardrobe change. We got there about 3 minutes early and when we walked in the door there was one other girl in the lobby and you'll never guess what her name was! Yup, Riley. I'm not exaggerating when I tell you they were instant best friends. Adorable squared.

Shortly they were joined by one more cutie pie, Miss E. We all got some instruction in proper ballet slipper selection and securing. It's going to be time very soon for a proper pair. I hope my clothes khrama holds out for me hunting for those. Three little dancers marched into that studio holding hands. Miss Amy explained that fall is the reverse of summer the classes usually start smaller and fill. I also noticed that unlike summer everyone had followed dress code.

Warm-ups!

Miss Roo was the big fish because she was the only one who'd been there over the summer. She did very well and actively encouraged her new friends to join in. So, sweet.

At the end of class there was one other small difference, stickers instead of stamps! That was enough to thrill her for sure. She did a great job. I'm so glad for the recovering I did and the closer location of this school. I missed so much of her first year of dance because I just wasn't up to it, but since summer I've been there for every class. It's a blessing to spend so much time watching her grow into a young lady. I don't know what I'd do without her.

Books & Beats

We continued our regularly scheduled summer camp at home program today. I actually got a phone call last night that I won the summer adult reading drawing at the library this week, yay! So, I was very excited to go pick up my $15 Barnes and Noble gift card. Isaac's reading list books got a little backed up on us and we had to settle up his fines, but he's only got one book left on his summer reading list for school. Exciting stuff!

I got Riley two Pete the Cat books and our newly discovered favorite Skippy John Jones this one is the dinosaur adventure. I'm so excited to read them. They also had not only a Hello Kitty coloring page, but an Alcie in Wonderland as well. Riley was over the moon. She's such a skilled colorer these days. I know I've said it before but this time I mean it I'm donating crayons to the library.

Not that the morning could've improved a bit, but then it was time for Preschool Jams. Isaac got a book about drawing airplanes and spacecraft and got to it. The summer music program at the library is winding down and this week was all about instruments. Drums, rythem sticks and bells (oh, my!). When they passed out the little tubs to drum on Riley realized mine matched her outfit better and we HAD to trade. They marched around druming and did the sound effects to a story with all three instruments. We ended all the fun with jingle bells. That was my personal favorite. After the library we were off for happy meals and (at least for Riley) a nap.

After some chicken nuggets and a nap it was off to dance class for Miss Roo.

Ballerina bun + Monster barrette for the win!

I Hope You Dance

Today was Riley's second dance class and I hoped that the crowd would be smaller, the weather better and Riley's enthusiasm as high. All three wishes were granted, plus I got smart about parking and it was way easier to leave this week.

Ready to roll!

This time I didn't sit under the window pressing my face and camera to the glass. I kissed my big girl on her head and sat on the other side of the lobby area. I read my book and waited for the shoe change. They do tap the last ten minutes of every class. Riley's big girl buddy (aka teacher's assistant) walked her out to me for shoe switching. There was a pleasant surprise this week: the moms were all invited in with our cameras to watch them do their tap choreography.

Boogie Woogie is my favorite move hands down. So cute! And speaking of cute...

It's been such an interesting experience for me. I've been very proud of how she's handled herself and how much she seems to glean from each class. I wonder though how many weeks I'll feel like the new kid among all those Mommies who know each other from having older kids in other classes. I still put on make-up every class. I never cared at her old class because I had Boo's mom. On top of that I talked to everyone which didn't work for me the first week here. I'm sure we'll all get into a routine before summer classes end.

I also addressed the fact that almost no one else was following dress code. Ms Amy said Riley can wear her leotards with attached skirts so long as they don't become a distraction. Fingers crossed she does alright in one of them next week because she loves them.

Tiny Dancer

All Ready

"Mommy I stretch waaaaaay high like a ba-la-nina". So pretty in head to toe pink.The official summer dance dress code says "any color leotard, any color tights. No skirts. Hair in a ponytail or bun."

We're Here

She couldn't wait.

Dance Time

I was glad we broke in her ballet slippers in when we got them because one little girl wiped out in hers. They all did really well. According to the moms I was standing with a lot of them had never danced before. In typical Riley-fashion she participated at about 50% her normal enthusiasm since it was her first time. I can't wait to see what she does next time or by the end of the summer for that matter.

Tap Time

When it was time to switch shoes Riley lit up like a Christmas tree. "Mommy help me change shooooooeees!" she squealed as she ran towards me with her patent leather tap shoes in her hand. She did a great job tapping too. When I asked her on the way home what her favorite part was she said "I liked my clap shoes! They're noisy!"

Doing A Happy Dance!

We're still pretty new on the dance scene. Riley is only now a few months shy of 3. It honestly, never would have occurred to me to look for a dance class last fall if my friend hadn't seen the ad and decided to take her daughter too. It worked out very well. Dancing once a week with your friends, nothing beats that. I felt like the new kid in class at recital time for sure. After that adventure, classes were done, but I had no idea for how long.

Yesterday evening I got a call from her dance studio saying registration was this morning between 10a-12p. Cool! Here I was, believing we were on dance class hiatus until fall. Then I went to talk to Mike about timing, money and general opinions about how to proceed with Riley's dance career. We decided closer to home and earlier in the day and week would be better. The research began, and what do you know, my Google-Fu produced an option less then 5min away, in the same price range with a 2.5-3yr old class on Tuesdays at 4:45pm. Score.

I was a little worried about leaving the familiar behind, but this new place had a lot going for it. I explained very carefully to Riley that we would go check out this new place and if we didn't like it we'd go to the other one and register. I also knew her best friend who danced with her all last year wouldn't be a part of summer dance classes no matter where we went. Change was in the wind.

Riley ready to go:

When I got to the potential new school I was instantly thrilled by its proximity. Riley was a little hesitant, but ready, as always, for the adventure. I loved their beautiful space and Riley gave the dance floor a sufficient test spin. It just felt right. So we signed up, but this was the real deal. Riley was going to need plain pink or black leotards, pink tights, ballet slippers and tap shoes. We went straight off to Target after she was registered. We were able to get all her ballet stuff. She couldn't wait to try it all on.

She spun herself right out. So did Leeloo.

I don't think a pony would have made her any happier than dance classes resuming and getting real ballet slippers. She's a real ballerina now. Unfortunately, neither Target nor the adjacent shoe store had tap shoes. When I checked Ebay I was stunned that even the shoes people were selling used seemed to be about $30. No-freaking-way. I did find a discount dance supply site with tap shoes in Riley's size for about $17, but kept looking. I got all excited and even (oops) bid on a pair on Ebay that's auction didn't end soon enough to get them shipped before her classes start. Then I emailed some people from Craigslist, but they had posted early in June and I wasn't hopeful. I stuck with it. I only called two kids consignment stores before I found one that had her size. $5.99 for a like new new pair of patent leather, tie top tap shoes in almost perfect condition. Score!!

She's thrilled now. How she'll ever make it to the 10th I just don't know. In the meantime she'll spin and watch Gene Kelly videos and get excited. They grow up so fast. A real ballerina...