Amy has been asking me for months when she'd get to dance on stage. I'd tell her, "Not until your recital." Or as I am supposed to refer to it, her informal demonstration. Last night she finally got her opportunity.
This was her second rehearsal - the ever so important dress rehearsal. We'd had a studio rehearsal a couple weeks ago. I am one of the host moms, which means I stay backstage with Amy's class and help make sure the girls stay together and get them where they are supposed to be. It can be a hectic job, as a hostess is also responsible for making sure they are in their appropriate attire, makeup applied, hair perfect, etc. I was both looking forward to it and dreading it all at the same time. The dress rehearsal meant fully dressed for performance - full makeup, including false eyelashes! I've been apprehensive about those silly eyelashes ever since the parent meeting before Amy even began her ballet classes. I thought to myself, you want me to glue false eyelashes on my 3-yr. old (and keep in mind, Amy was actually only 2 when I found out about the lashes)... and you expect her to dance with them on??? Talk about your disbelief.
So fast forward to yesterday. The big day had arrived. And I was sick. I'd caught Amy's virus - the one she had all last week. I'd been sick since Saturday, but I still had a low grade fever that morning and figured no parent was going to want me around their kids. So I got another mom to perform my hostess duty. It meant I got to sit in the auditorium and watch the whole rehearsal. This was both good and bad. First of all, long story short, I'd made a doctor's appt. that afternoon that took longer than I'd expected. I wasn't left with as much time as I really needed to get Amy dressed and ready. And try putting black eyeliner on a 3-yr. old when your low on time and your hands are shaking! I was making a complete mess of Amy's make-up, so I finally gave up and we left almost 30 minutes later than I'd wanted to. So not only were we late getting there, but Amy's make-up was not done - including those before mentioned false eyelashes. The other mom ended up finishing her up, which I felt so bad about. And on top of that, I think it traumatized poor Amy. Obviously, she didn't want strangers messing with her. She had a meltdown halfway through and claimed she was finished for the night. She wasn't going to dance anymore. Thankfully, I was able to convince her otherwise.
We made it through the night, and if you ignore the bad make-up, crying, and in the end, missing one eyelash, she did quite well. She couldn't remember much of her dance routines, but she smiled a lot and waved to the audience. When she was on stage, she was happy. Who could ask for more?
Sadly, I don't think this experience met with Amy's expectations. What she had been looking forward to for so long ended up being a rather unpleasant night for her. She's been telling me all day that she does not want to go back to "that room" (where they waited between performances) with those "other mommies".
So tomorrow night for the big performance, no matter how tired or congested I feel, I'll be backstage with her. Hopefully, things will go more smoothly!
Here are some pictures from the night. Pictures and video are not allowed during the real performance, so I did the best I could at the rehearsal. I wish I'd gotten closer (and less heads in my shots)!
This was her second rehearsal - the ever so important dress rehearsal. We'd had a studio rehearsal a couple weeks ago. I am one of the host moms, which means I stay backstage with Amy's class and help make sure the girls stay together and get them where they are supposed to be. It can be a hectic job, as a hostess is also responsible for making sure they are in their appropriate attire, makeup applied, hair perfect, etc. I was both looking forward to it and dreading it all at the same time. The dress rehearsal meant fully dressed for performance - full makeup, including false eyelashes! I've been apprehensive about those silly eyelashes ever since the parent meeting before Amy even began her ballet classes. I thought to myself, you want me to glue false eyelashes on my 3-yr. old (and keep in mind, Amy was actually only 2 when I found out about the lashes)... and you expect her to dance with them on??? Talk about your disbelief.
So fast forward to yesterday. The big day had arrived. And I was sick. I'd caught Amy's virus - the one she had all last week. I'd been sick since Saturday, but I still had a low grade fever that morning and figured no parent was going to want me around their kids. So I got another mom to perform my hostess duty. It meant I got to sit in the auditorium and watch the whole rehearsal. This was both good and bad. First of all, long story short, I'd made a doctor's appt. that afternoon that took longer than I'd expected. I wasn't left with as much time as I really needed to get Amy dressed and ready. And try putting black eyeliner on a 3-yr. old when your low on time and your hands are shaking! I was making a complete mess of Amy's make-up, so I finally gave up and we left almost 30 minutes later than I'd wanted to. So not only were we late getting there, but Amy's make-up was not done - including those before mentioned false eyelashes. The other mom ended up finishing her up, which I felt so bad about. And on top of that, I think it traumatized poor Amy. Obviously, she didn't want strangers messing with her. She had a meltdown halfway through and claimed she was finished for the night. She wasn't going to dance anymore. Thankfully, I was able to convince her otherwise.
We made it through the night, and if you ignore the bad make-up, crying, and in the end, missing one eyelash, she did quite well. She couldn't remember much of her dance routines, but she smiled a lot and waved to the audience. When she was on stage, she was happy. Who could ask for more?
Sadly, I don't think this experience met with Amy's expectations. What she had been looking forward to for so long ended up being a rather unpleasant night for her. She's been telling me all day that she does not want to go back to "that room" (where they waited between performances) with those "other mommies".
So tomorrow night for the big performance, no matter how tired or congested I feel, I'll be backstage with her. Hopefully, things will go more smoothly!
Here are some pictures from the night. Pictures and video are not allowed during the real performance, so I did the best I could at the rehearsal. I wish I'd gotten closer (and less heads in my shots)!
Amy on the far left, smiling at the crowd
Amy - the one with her hands in the air
Amy (in the middle of the photo)
Amy is the one on the left (such good form :) )
Amy is on the left, arm raised and foot out
Amy is the one standing in the back, far left
1 comment:
Amy, you did so well at your recital. We were so proud of you, and you looked beautiful. We love you. Granny and PawPaw
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