Recital Mania

Don't let the smiley photos deceive you. I knew this year's recital schedule was going to be brutal. And it was. With two longer shows (now with intermission!) spaced further apart and dress rehearsals still the day of, it was a marathon dance Sunday that I couldn't wait to be done with. Not exactly the end of the year extravaganza I've looked forward to in years past. But it was also Elisa's turn to receive her fifth year of dance award and after watching friends receive theirs before her, she was psyched. So we made the best of it and I buckled up for a long day...

And really, in the end it was survivable. But not without alcohol and some gallows humor laughter with Nacho as we sunk into our seats for the second round. Hitting a nearby Mexican cafe in between was another saving grace, but I could tell the girls were a bit stir crazy and ready to be done with things. Elisa performed twice in both shows and Carolina danced for a total of 3 minutes in the first show only. So out of the near 10 hours we dedicated to it that day, the six year old spent 3 minutes engaged in the activity. Not exactly a good payout for all that time. I'm trying to understand how things got to this point and how we as parents can make it better. But I'm not that optimistic. So yeah, we'll see what next year brings. Right now, I'm just glad we made it out alive. 

All the nuts

Ballet night

Tonight was the observation night for Carolina's ballet class. After one semester of sending her off every Friday afternoon, it was finally my chance to sit in on the action and see what she's been learning. And from what I could see tonight, she's been really enjoying herself and learning the fundamentals of ballet movement. I think the class skews a bit young, so it's easy to spot long, lean Carolina at the top of the height chart. Somehow she's grown up and thinned out so much in the past few months of preschool. I saw it so much clearer tonight while watching her lithe limbs swoop gracefully around. And yes, she also got a bit distracted at times. But she was definitely in her element. I think ballet suits her for now and the teachers each asked her to demonstrate the exercises for the smaller girls. So lovely to see and I really can't wait to be at the recital in the spring for the rest of the story...