Tiny Dancer

At some point in the life of most little girls, they will be subjected to The Recital.  This is the one event that parents adore yet cringe at simultaneously.   Little girls, all adorable in their toule and lace, tapping and piroetting for an audience of overexcited moms hoping their little angel will be the next prima ballerina (although after seeing Black Swan I don't know why any parent would wish for that, but eh, some moms are nuts).  The flip side is that for months you've been driving your kid to dance class every week, missing meals, torturing the rest of the family with the schedule.  You've also emptied most of your bank account paying for the The Recital outfit, which I remember as the itchiest thing I've ever put on my body and as a result the only pictures my parents have of me in said outfit involve crying.  To this day, I blame that dance outfit for my inability to relate to others.  OK, not really.

Lucky for us, we didn't have to drive Ayla anywhere for dance.  The lessons happened right at school during the school day.  I was never inconvenienced with schedule conflicts, however I did take out a small loan for The Recital outfit.  Really, the biggest pain was arranging a sitter for the boys during the rehearsal and Recital.  The last thing I needed to deal with during The Recital was Orion and Kai thinking they belonged on the stage too.  Just let that image sink in for a bit...feathers and tap shoes flying everywhere, screaming little girls, dogs and cats living together...mass hysteria!  Luckily, I have friends who watched them so all the attention was on Ayla. 

The rehearsal was great.  She danced and looked like she was having a great time.  All in all, I was impressed at the rehearsal and thought she dealt with being on stage pretty well. She is the youngest and littlest girl in her class, so my expectations were way exceeded.  Except for that one time where the dance instructor scolded her for jumping.  After that she stood there with her fingers in her mouth sticking her tongue out.  Yup, that's the attitude I'm looking forward to in 12 years. 

On the day of The Recital, we made it in time to prep in the school hallway with 40 other little girls in various outfits and dozens of tap shoes (the sound was deafening). The linoleum was like an ice rink with the tap shoes; little girls were flying everywhere just trying to walk.  It was like an episode of Dancing with the Stars, only with more talent. I thought boys were hyper, but apparently that award goes to anyone wearing tap shoes. Of course, if I was wearing itchy costumes (or wearing tap shoes) I wouldn't sit still either. It took all the willpower of the adults in the hall to get those girls out on stage. Once there, I was hopeful for a repeat of the rehearsal performance. But instead, my little darling stood on stage, fingers in her mouth, looking out at the big dark audience and said "Mommy...I want my Mommy" very softly through the whole song. It was the most pitiful and cutest thing ever! Other parents even started commenting, "Look at the little one on the end, she's so cute!" Sigh. Well, I suppose there is always gymnastics.  At least the outfits are cheaper.