Dancing Girls!

We enrolled Brooke and Maddie in dance class last Fall.  It was really cute to watch them.  I wasn't sure they would follow their teacher, but they did amazingly well.  I figured I'd just drop them off each week and then come pick them up at the end of class, but it was so fun to watch them, I usually just stayed there and enjoyed the entertainment.  The nice thing about the sports the boys play is that they only last a couple months and then they are done.  No time for burnout.  Dance, however, is almost the whole school year.  We didn't start them until November, but that was just fine.  I don't feel like they missed out on previous instruction.  They seemed to do just as well as most of the other girls in the class when it came time for performance.  As long as they kept an eye on their teachers, they did pretty well.

Waiting for their first performance at the Senior Center

By about February or March, Brooke seemed to be getting a little tired of it.  Maddie was always excited when I said it was a dance day, but Brooke would usually whine a little and say she didn't want to go, even though she always had a good time once she got there.  The performances were their favorite.  They both loved putting on their costumes and dancing.  Their costumes were a little itchy, and they were both in the same size, so Maddie's was a little loose and Brooke's a little snug, but they looked cute and were great little performers. Throughout the year they danced to Let It Snow, Twist and Shout, La Bamba, and The Do Run Run.

Halftime entertainment - Brooke far left, Maddie far right

Christmas performance on the stage at the high school - Brooke middle, Maddie far right

Hamming it up backstage

Another halftime performance

They had class once a week and then occasional performances at the senior center and high school basketball games.  They had a big performance at Christmastime, and a final performance in the Spring that they did two nights in a row.  They had their class/individual pictures taken on the Friday before Easter, and that night Maddie broke her leg on the trampoline.  Poor girl!  It was a week or so before the final dance recital and even though Maddie could walk in her cast, and tried dancing a little at home, she did not want to try to dance in the performance.  But she put on her costume anyway and watched Brooke and the rest of her class perform.  She danced in the aisle while Brooke performed on stage.  What a trooper!  I'll post more about the broken leg in the next post.

At the high school dance preview

Watching the rehearsal for the final recital. Sean impressively got her tights on over her cast!

Ready for her final performance!

Brooke in the middle with her hands up high!

Cousin Jack was in the recital with the ballroom dance group.  He's the boy on the left.

After the first night of the final recital.  Maddie sported the pink cast!

We didn't know about the curtain call the first night, but the second night, Brooke was right in the middle of it!

I don't think we'll do dance class again this year.  Brooke is not too thrilled about it, and Maddie just goes along with whatever, so we're hoping to find something else to keep them busy.  They seem interested in tumbling/gymnastics, so that might be the direction we go this year.  They still love to dance here at home, so maybe they'll be interested in classes again some day, but for now, we'll enjoy their home performances!