Tap-a tap-a tap-a

This week was a busy one with not only the Winter Concert on Tuesday night, but also the parent observation week at Elisa's tap class at Sunnyside Ballet Studio.  Since these things were pretty much back-to-back right after school and lasted until nearly 8pm, I wasn't optimistic about how the night would turn out. But at least it all started off on a good note...At first Elisa was a little nervous about having parents in the class with her telling me she didn't want to go to dance that night. But when I explained that it was just so we could go and enjoy the music and see how great they were all doing she perked up. Once the instructor played the thumpin' beat, Elisa sure changed her tune. I won't say she was the most accurate of dancers, but what she lacks in technique, she definitely makes up for in spunk and rhythm. The kid has the music in her and it's wonderful to watch. 

Seeing their drills and time steps, shuffles and flaps brought back lots of memories from my own first dance class. I think tap is a great way to begin to get the basics of learning routines and practicing steps. Elisa has some things to work on, but since she's the youngest in her class, I think there's plenty of time to catch up. She was happy by the end of the routine and she was bowing like a pro. I think we'll give this at least a year to see how she likes it and hopefully it will become something she looks forward to as much as I did. Reliving my childhood isn't the point here, even though it sounds a little like that, but I really only hope Elisa finds her groove doing something she loves.  For me sports were never the draw, it was all dance all the time. Elisa might be a kid that likes to do everything...or nothing. Time will tell. But starting small and letting her find her own way is my biggest challenge. I guess we'll both see where this leads. For now, she enjoys the music and the dancing enough to keep at it. The proof is in the video!