Simple Beginnings
I bought my daughter a tutu when she was 1 1/2 because all toddler girls should own a tutu.
She adored it. She wore it all the time.
Then when she was 2 1/2, she got a leotard, skirt, and ballet slippers for Christmas. She adored those, too.
So when she was 3, we put both girls in ballet class. My eldest loved it, but my middle child was a little overwhelmed, so we let her drop out after Christmas.
The following school year, she was ready to jump back in. This time, she stuck with it.
The teacher had the other girls in class look to her to remember their steps in the recital dance. She was that confident.
…then we took a year off while we had the house on the market and moved 1200 miles away.
When we started dancing in Kissimmee, she joined ballet like she’d done in Buffalo. But when she tried a hip-hop class, something clicked. She was immediately in love.
Then, she tried tap during the summer session, and that was a magical experience too!
So when we let her try as many dance forms as we could possibly cram into our schedule this past year, she ended up choosing ALL of them. She was in 7 classes each week (thankfully overlapping with at least one other sibling).
…conclusion (it’s about time, right?) : my daughter is a dancer.
I don’t know what style will end up being her absolute favorite. I don’t know where she’ll take it and how far it will go. Maybe she’ll pursue it as her profession, and maybe she’ll decide at some point that she needs to head in a different direction.
but I suspect that, no matter what, dance will continue to have a portion of her heart for all of her life.
Why do I think that??
Because I’m her mom, and I’m exactly the same. No matter how long it’s been, ballet still draws me in.
So, as you get ready to start this coming school year, deciding on classes and schedules, try to let your heart lead. Obviously we all have limitations (schedule, budget, etc), but if there’s one thing being a dancer and dance mom has taught me, it’s that you can’t decide with your head what form(s) of dance speak to you.