Kylee's 1st Dance Recital

Before the show: Kylee was so excited about the recital....until the rehearsal. She isn't a fan of crowds or chaos and dress rehearsal is anything but lacking in those departments. She did great on stage, but by the end of the night she was spooked. She said she was scared and did not want to participate in the recital. I assured her that Mrs. Zaffina (the backstage mom) and Ms. Allison would keep her safe, but she was pretty determined not to be in the show. We talked about her class being a team. I told her that her classmates, especially her ballet partner, were counting on her. We talked about being reliable and being a good friend. Eventually, she reluctantly agreed to try to do the ballet and tap dances (but was still instant that she would not be in the finale). It seemed like forever from the time I dropped her off at the stage door to the time the show started. I was so worried! I worried about how she was doing/feeling. I worried if I had made the right parenting decision by talking her into coming. I prayed that when her class came on stage that she would be with them.

During the show: She did it!! She was awesome on stage and, in my humble opinion, was the cutest thing to ever exist! She danced her little heart out and hardly missed a beat! Most importantly, she looked like she was having the time of her life (especially during the big finale)! I was/am so proud of her for facing her fears and a so happy/relieved that she had fun. I didn't get any pictures of her in action during the performance (flash photography is prohibited), but the backstage mom got a couple group shots between their dances.

After the show: Kylee was so excited! She had a blast and was almost as proud of herself as I was of her. She was very visibly beaming with pride as we handed her the flowers. She felt like a star and was all about having her picture taken. Usually when I ask to take her picture she does a sort of half smile and stands still for all of maybe 2 seconds. After the show, she was all poses!

Afterwards we came back to our house to eat a special, ballet themed cake. I also got her a ballet shoe vase for her flowers. I'm hoping that if she decides to stick with the dance for awhile, the vase will become a fun tradition.

Later that evening Grandma watched Makenna while I took Kylee to watch the 7:30 ballet/recital. It was the perfect mommy and me date! We had a blast watching the show together! It lasted over 3 hours, and Kylee still wanted to see more! She was very inspired by "the big girls" and was/is so proud of her recital t-shirt and the fact that her name is on the back. She has not stopped dancing (or posing) since!