Recital Day!

Celebrating a wonderful recital performance with Italian ices in Corona and a little bocce...

Father's Day this year meant sleeping in til 8 a.m. throwing a few presents Nacho's way and then heading out for a whole day of dress rehearsals and a dance recital at 2 p.m. It might not have been exactly what Nacho had in mind, but then we couldn't let him stay inside and watch futbol 24/7 for the next three weeks could we? Yes, the World Cup is on and I do enjoy a match here and there. But the recital was a real highlight of the weekend for me. Elisa has not always loved going to dance on Tuesdays throughout the year. Most of the time, there's a slight groan when I mention that I'll be picking her up at the closer bus stop "because it's Tuesday and we have tap." But once there, she was always excited about learning and loved seeing her friend Bea. I steered her towards tap because I really felt it suited her and would be a good introduction to dance for a girl who likes to shake her thang. And after the performance I saw today, I was right.

It was such a thrill to see her onstage, smiling and hitting her routine with an ease and flair that makes me think this won't be her last recital. She looked around a bit and might have been a second off a few times, but overall, she nailed it. She wasn't overwhelmed by the lights of the big theatre and she took her direction in the dress rehearsal to move to her mark upstage flawlessly. Come showtime, she was right where she needed to be.  And man, the kid can move. The song was "I like to move it" which has a thumping beat that got the crowd whispering and ready for a great performance. And the kids really delivered. It meant so much to me to see her doing something that I loved as a girl, and to see her doing so well at it. She wasn't exactly a ray of sunshine all day long--the rehearsal was a lot of sitting around and she was starving by the lunch break--but man, when she danced you could forget all that. I wanted her to experience the stage and the thrill of the curtain parting and I could tell in her eyes and her smile that she loved it. I really couldn't have been prouder. She was in her element and it had nothing to do with me. It was all her. Which of course made me tear up even more. 

Being backstage and seeing all the dancers getting ready, applying make up and preening around in their new costumes was also a lot of fun for me as a parent. Our dance studio, Sunnyside Ballet Studio, is really a neighborhood spot and so the community we already know and love was all there for the show. I sat with other mom friends during the rehearsal since we were allowed to watch and take photos, and we were all so excited to see the kids bringing there hard work to the stage. Of course, Elisa is still crazy about taking ballet and even more so after seeing her friends perform. And I'm okay with that. I told Elisa many times that she didn't have to stick with tap forever, but I wanted her to try it. And she did. Now she might want to branch out and I think that would be great. What I wasn't expecting was that Carolina would be so gung ho to take dance after seeing her big sis perform. She could barely contain herself during the show saying "there's MORE?!" after every number and has since asked several times when she can go "to the elevators" to take ballet. Ah yes, this kid is growing up and too fast. Who knows, maybe by next year's recital, I will have two girls twirling up there. Without sounding too much like a dance mom, I kinda hope so. 

Happy Father's Day to Nacho, who brought Carolina to the show and gave Elisa her first bouquet. That's love.