Almost 2 years ago, I wrote a post called Would You Let Her Quit? I thought at the time, and I've thought a few times since then, that undoubtably a few people read that and thought, "Well, yah, that's easy to say you'd let her quit when in the end she didn't quit. What if she really had quit?"
So I wanted to share some of the quitting and near quitting that has happened in the last 2 years.
L did gymnastics for a little while right around the same time as that post. After a few months, she decided that she liked it, but didn't want to do it anymore. The class was really awfully long and structured for such young kids. So she stopped doing gymnastics.
Earlier this year, L did Taekwondo. She chose it after trying out two classes and also trying out ballet. She liked the taekwondo because the classes were only half an hour instead of an hour, and I also think the activity is more fitting to her personality than ballet. I signed her up for 8 weeks rather than doing a 6 month contract, so it would be easier on us financially if she quit. She lasted the whole 8 weeks, but she did skip a few classes just because she didn't feel like going, and then made them up later in the week. When the 8 weeks was over, she didn't want to continue, even though overall she said she'd enjoyed the classes.
Then in November, both girls performed in the Nutcracker ballet with professional dancers from another city doing an outreach program. The dance company was strict about no parents being in the rehearsals or backstage. So they did the rehearsals with me in the building, but not in the room, and they had lots of fun. When it came time to do the show, however, L was nervous. I packed her a bag with things to do, made sure she knew the adult in the room she could ask to call me if she needed me, and dropped her off at the last possible minute.
They called me after half an hour or so during the first show because she was crying. So I picked her up and took her home. Before the next show, I told her it was ok if she didn't want to do the show at all. At first she said that she didn't, and that was ok. Then as I got E ready to go, L decided she did want to do it after all. So I spent the half an hour doing her hair and make up again, knowing she might not really do it, but wanting to support her either way.
They called me again after not too long, saying that she had hid under a table and cried that she wanted to go home. So I picked her up and took her home again.
Before the last show, I told her that this was the last chance to do this show, but that if she didn't want to it was ok. There would be other shows when she was older. When we were getting ready to go, we realized her tights had a hole in them. I dropped E off and told the dance company volunteers that I had to run to the store to get L tights. I took her with me and got her back just in time for her part of the performance. I think that helped a lot, that she didn't have to wait in a strange, noisy place with strange people until it was time for her to go on stage. And she did it!
But if she hadn't done it, that would be ok too!
It's great that E seems to have found her niche at such a young age. She loves performing and dancing. She's now done Best of Broadway for 2 years and auditioned again for the show in March. She's done a pop concert and the Nutcracker ballet, and she is in her second year of ballet classes with several performances a year. She loves it and says she wants to dance for a professional dance company when she is older. If she stops dancing tomorrow and never dances again, that will be ok too, but for now, she seems to have found her thing.
L hasn't found her niche yet, and that's ok. I'm happy to let her try out a dozen or two dozen things until one sticks. Or maybe she'll be a woman of many talents and never pick one thing. That's ok too. She's talked about doing gymnastics and taekwondo again, so we'll see. She's going to do Best of Broadway this year, but it remains to be seen if she loves it as much as E does. She's doing entomology and cooking projects in 4H. Maybe one of those will spark a life long interest or maybe not. Maybe she'll try out some sports. Whatever she chooses to do, I will support her in trying, practicing, struggling, deciding, sticking with it or quitting.
UPDATE: Well, it's true that everything changes! Just a few days after writing this, E decided to stop ballet classes. She hadn't been as interested in practicing for the recital as she was last year. The class after the recital came up and she didn't want to go. We discussed her switching to jazz or hip hop, but ultimately she decided to just take the spring off and maybe go back in the fall. So we shall see...
Showing posts with label dance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dance. Show all posts
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Pop Concert
Both girls had their first rehearsal for a local pop concert they will
be in. The oldest has done a musical theater production with Broadway
songs for the last two years, so this will be different for her. It's
the first thing my 4 year old has been old enough for. The rehearsal
was 3 hours long! I wasn't sure how my 4 year old would do, having never done anything like this before, but she did great. *wrote March 24
E and L had their first pop concert performance tonight! They did an amazing job!
I can't even believe my 4 year old! She is SO little and the rehearsals were so long sometimes and she'd get tired. I told her a bunch of times that it's ok if she doesn't want to do it, she could always do it when she's bigger if she wants to or not at all. I thought maybe she was just doing it because her sister was and that it might be too much for her, so I made sure to let her know that she didn't have to do it. But she did it! And she can be really reserved around people until she warms up and gets to know them, but she had NO fear in front of that audience tonight.
My 7 year old worked so hard on her dancing and she nailed it! This is the third performance like this that she has been in (the other two were shows with Broadway show tunes) and she's getting better every time. *wrote on message board on May 11
The sound isn't great because the performance was a in a gym and my videography leaves a lot to be desired. They are next to each other in pink and black. L is the littlest one in the hoodie and E is next to her.
I was so busy trying to get good shots of my girls (nearly impossible in the semi dark) on this one that the video totally misses what everyone is cheering about. They were throwing a teenager girl in the air cheerleader style and she was doing all kinds of flips and stunts. This is the song Diamonds by Rhianna.
E and L had their first pop concert performance tonight! They did an amazing job!
I can't even believe my 4 year old! She is SO little and the rehearsals were so long sometimes and she'd get tired. I told her a bunch of times that it's ok if she doesn't want to do it, she could always do it when she's bigger if she wants to or not at all. I thought maybe she was just doing it because her sister was and that it might be too much for her, so I made sure to let her know that she didn't have to do it. But she did it! And she can be really reserved around people until she warms up and gets to know them, but she had NO fear in front of that audience tonight.
My 7 year old worked so hard on her dancing and she nailed it! This is the third performance like this that she has been in (the other two were shows with Broadway show tunes) and she's getting better every time. *wrote on message board on May 11
The sound isn't great because the performance was a in a gym and my videography leaves a lot to be desired. They are next to each other in pink and black. L is the littlest one in the hoodie and E is next to her.
I was so busy trying to get good shots of my girls (nearly impossible in the semi dark) on this one that the video totally misses what everyone is cheering about. They were throwing a teenager girl in the air cheerleader style and she was doing all kinds of flips and stunts. This is the song Diamonds by Rhianna.
Ballet
Christmas Spectacular Performance
I can't seem to find the pictures/videos of the actual performance.
Here's the year end performance that was in May. She is on the left (of the screen), sitting down in the front in the beginning. There is a boy and an older girl to the left, then E, then another girl sitting to the right. She LOVES ballet and will probably do it again next year. She dances every day!
Here's the year end performance that was in May. She is on the left (of the screen), sitting down in the front in the beginning. There is a boy and an older girl to the left, then E, then another girl sitting to the right. She LOVES ballet and will probably do it again next year. She dances every day!
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Musical Theater
This is the show that E was rehearsing for when I wrote Would You Let Her Quit? This is one of the songs and if it didn't take so blasted long to upload things to youtube, I'd have the others! Maybe another day. This song is called Friendship and is part of the musical Anything Goes. She also did one song in Oliver, two songs in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and another song in Anything Goes. 100 hours of rehearsal, five songs in three shows, three costumes, full makeup and hair, and six two and a half hour long shows! She is the one in the front, near the right of the screen, in the purple swimsuit.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Inspiration Sunday
Today we are going to a pumpkin patch and we will try making a pumpkin pie completely from scratch which I have never done before (I've done other pies, but never pumpkin without the can). Our oven is broken, however, so this will depend on making it to my mom's house to use hers.
The girls have been taking a dance class and a gymnastics class for a few weeks now. The last couple of days they have been combining what they have learned in their classes with their own moves, and watching break dancing videos and putting that all together. Yesterday they spent about 4 hours or more flipping on the couch. This morning they have been watching this break dancing video and trying to copy what these guys do.
These guys are incredible! I wonder how long they have been practicing to get this good.
This week, if this interest continues, we will look up some more videos. They are excited to show their dance and gymnastics teachers what they have been doing. I will take some videos to post as well.
We don't have any other real plans for the week. Maybe the park. What are you doing this week?
The girls have been taking a dance class and a gymnastics class for a few weeks now. The last couple of days they have been combining what they have learned in their classes with their own moves, and watching break dancing videos and putting that all together. Yesterday they spent about 4 hours or more flipping on the couch. This morning they have been watching this break dancing video and trying to copy what these guys do.
This week, if this interest continues, we will look up some more videos. They are excited to show their dance and gymnastics teachers what they have been doing. I will take some videos to post as well.
We don't have any other real plans for the week. Maybe the park. What are you doing this week?
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Life is What Happens While You're Making Other Plans
Wasn't it one of the Beetles that said that? I should google it to find the source, but not now.
Anyway, I did that whole long post on our ideas for things to do and places to go in August and then life happened! My husband just got a new job as a fire watchman for a logging company that requires him to basically live on site for a while in a trailer. So the girls and I camped with him 4 days a week for the last two weeks. They had a blast playing in the dirt, seeing the logging equipment, and going to the lake. I'll post more on that later. Now we are only camping with him 2 nights a week, but it's still that much time away from home and unavailable for these projects.
To top it all off, D needs the car, so we are getting around on foot, on the bus and with rides from my parents.
Also, this week and next week the dance studio is letting people try out all of their classes for free. So we will be doing 2 classes on Monday, 2 classes on Tuesday and one class on Wednesday. E will be choosing between ballet, jazz and hip hop and L will be choosing between pre-ballet and a mommy and me class.
Of course, the learning never stops, the details just change! And some ideas (I hesitate to say plans, since they were so subject to change anyway) have stayed the same, like the hot air balloon races that we went to today (and I'll be posting more about that too.) Some things won't happen and some will be put off until next month. And so life goes!
Anyway, I did that whole long post on our ideas for things to do and places to go in August and then life happened! My husband just got a new job as a fire watchman for a logging company that requires him to basically live on site for a while in a trailer. So the girls and I camped with him 4 days a week for the last two weeks. They had a blast playing in the dirt, seeing the logging equipment, and going to the lake. I'll post more on that later. Now we are only camping with him 2 nights a week, but it's still that much time away from home and unavailable for these projects.
To top it all off, D needs the car, so we are getting around on foot, on the bus and with rides from my parents.
Also, this week and next week the dance studio is letting people try out all of their classes for free. So we will be doing 2 classes on Monday, 2 classes on Tuesday and one class on Wednesday. E will be choosing between ballet, jazz and hip hop and L will be choosing between pre-ballet and a mommy and me class.
Of course, the learning never stops, the details just change! And some ideas (I hesitate to say plans, since they were so subject to change anyway) have stayed the same, like the hot air balloon races that we went to today (and I'll be posting more about that too.) Some things won't happen and some will be put off until next month. And so life goes!
Friday, November 19, 2010
Native American Pow Wow, traditions and dance
Wow, it's been a busy week!
Saturday we went to a Native American Pow Wow that was open to the public. There were lots of booth set up with beautiful, hand crafted items. Every thing from pottery to jewelry to clothes to salmon jerky. The best part, however, was the dance! The whole building reverberated with the sounds of the drums and chanting, and men and women were all dressed up in beautiful, intricate traditional clothing. I complimented a young women on her "costume" and was informed that they are not costumes, they are called outfits or regalia. E loved the dancing of course! Some of the dances were performances that we watched and others were open for anyone to come to the dance floor to join them. During the couple's dance, I offered to go be E's partner, but she said "no, I'll find someone else to dance with!" and left me in the bleachers. She found a little boy her age and danced with him for three dances. I wish I had a camera!
When we first got there I spent about 10 minutes just watching the dancing and fighting back tears. I was shocked at how profoundly it affected me. The drums, the chanting and the singing were so primal and expressive that I could just feel the ancient connection through my whole body. I watched an old woman hobble onto the dance floor with her cane and someone holding her hand. She slowly walked around the circle as the younger dancers did everything from a more rhythmic, on-beat walk to perfectly timed, rhythmic yet flowing and graceful spinning and jumping. I could imagine that she had been joining these dances since she was the age of the two and three year olds she was dancing beside that day.
The whole thing left me wishing that I had some kind of culture and tradition to pass on to my kids. I mean, we are beginning to form some meaningful traditions as we celebrate the Biblical holidays and learn about the Hebrew roots of our faith, but it would be nice to have something cultural to pass on as well. I am a full blooded American with the typical Heinz 57 mishmash of nationalities, but nothing to call my own. And really, what culture do Americans have? Fourth of July? How boring.
So I guess I will act in typical American fashion and just steal from other cultures what I don't have. I'm looking for more cultural events to take the kids to, but especially dance since E enjoys that so much.
The experience also reinforced my desire to have a blessing way with this baby. A blessing way is a Navajo tradition to bless the mother and baby before labor, but similar traditions are part of pregnancy in cultures around the world. I'm not interested in everything that the Navajo tradition entails and would like to incorporate a variety of things from different cultures and my own beliefs. Of course it would be important to me that the blessings were prayers to YHVH. The spiritual aspect appeals to me so much more than the materialism of a baby shower ever could.
Saturday we went to a Native American Pow Wow that was open to the public. There were lots of booth set up with beautiful, hand crafted items. Every thing from pottery to jewelry to clothes to salmon jerky. The best part, however, was the dance! The whole building reverberated with the sounds of the drums and chanting, and men and women were all dressed up in beautiful, intricate traditional clothing. I complimented a young women on her "costume" and was informed that they are not costumes, they are called outfits or regalia. E loved the dancing of course! Some of the dances were performances that we watched and others were open for anyone to come to the dance floor to join them. During the couple's dance, I offered to go be E's partner, but she said "no, I'll find someone else to dance with!" and left me in the bleachers. She found a little boy her age and danced with him for three dances. I wish I had a camera!
When we first got there I spent about 10 minutes just watching the dancing and fighting back tears. I was shocked at how profoundly it affected me. The drums, the chanting and the singing were so primal and expressive that I could just feel the ancient connection through my whole body. I watched an old woman hobble onto the dance floor with her cane and someone holding her hand. She slowly walked around the circle as the younger dancers did everything from a more rhythmic, on-beat walk to perfectly timed, rhythmic yet flowing and graceful spinning and jumping. I could imagine that she had been joining these dances since she was the age of the two and three year olds she was dancing beside that day.
The whole thing left me wishing that I had some kind of culture and tradition to pass on to my kids. I mean, we are beginning to form some meaningful traditions as we celebrate the Biblical holidays and learn about the Hebrew roots of our faith, but it would be nice to have something cultural to pass on as well. I am a full blooded American with the typical Heinz 57 mishmash of nationalities, but nothing to call my own. And really, what culture do Americans have? Fourth of July? How boring.
So I guess I will act in typical American fashion and just steal from other cultures what I don't have. I'm looking for more cultural events to take the kids to, but especially dance since E enjoys that so much.
The experience also reinforced my desire to have a blessing way with this baby. A blessing way is a Navajo tradition to bless the mother and baby before labor, but similar traditions are part of pregnancy in cultures around the world. I'm not interested in everything that the Navajo tradition entails and would like to incorporate a variety of things from different cultures and my own beliefs. Of course it would be important to me that the blessings were prayers to YHVH. The spiritual aspect appeals to me so much more than the materialism of a baby shower ever could.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Chinese Dance and Dragon Boats
About a week ago, we were watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and E was really fascinated by the dragon boat that they take down the chocolate river. She's seen the movie dozens of times, but this time that just jumped out at her. "Why does it look like that? Why are they drumming? Why is it a dragon?" I told her that it was similar to boats in China and that's probably where they got the idea. I was planning on looking them up on youtube for her the next day, but forgot about it.
Then the other day, she bought herself an umbrella. She had it open and was kneeling down and spinning it in front of her and it reminded me of Chinese dance. I told her about that and when we got home I looked up Chinese dance and dragon boats. That led to fan dances and ribbon dances as well.
We found videos like these:
Dragon Boat Festival
Silkworm Chinese Dance
Korean Fan Dance
Chinese Umbrella Dance
The umbrellas all looked like parasols to me, so I explained the difference to her. Now she wants a parasol, a fan, and some ribbons too. This girl loves to dance!
Then the other day, she bought herself an umbrella. She had it open and was kneeling down and spinning it in front of her and it reminded me of Chinese dance. I told her about that and when we got home I looked up Chinese dance and dragon boats. That led to fan dances and ribbon dances as well.
We found videos like these:
Dragon Boat Festival
Silkworm Chinese Dance
Korean Fan Dance
Chinese Umbrella Dance
The umbrellas all looked like parasols to me, so I explained the difference to her. Now she wants a parasol, a fan, and some ribbons too. This girl loves to dance!
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