Oh, ballet. After living with nearly non-stop dancing, we signed Maggie up for ballet last Fall with a local studio. She recently had the final performance and I can’t help but do my own kind of ‘happy dance’ in celebration of the ending of this weekly event. I’m glad we stuck with it, and I know that Maggie enjoyed it for the most part…..but, phew!!!!! I like to think I fall on the side of free-range parenting and really want to provide meaningful experiences for my children, so it was hard for me not to sometimes roll my eyes at the weekly dress code and rules.
That said, I LOVE that Maggie was brave enough each week to try something new, and for the final recital she didn’t bat an eye. She got up there and did the entire routine in front of a few hundred people. Way back in September when I signed her up, I thought we’d see some very homegrown productions, with cardboard painted backdrops or something similar. The reality of it was that we signed on with a MAJOR local ballet company and the production felt like a Broadway performance. It was incredible to have my 5 year old be part of……although I’m not convinced she understood, nor should she, how big it felt.
I really believe that Maggie has a dancer’s heart and her body loves to move when she hears music. Ballet is only one way that she can express that….
sooooo, here’s the little ballerina!!
