Monday, July 15, 2013

All That Jazz



This girl of mine loves to dance. She's been enjoying Ballet for years but this year she really wanted to give Jazz & Tap a whirl.

My only hesitation on signing her up was that it involved an Eisteddfod halfway through the year and this word alone conjured up an image where tears, tantrums and all manner of bad behaviour reigned supreme and this was only from the uber-competitive Mothers! I think I saw an episode on a US Talk Show some 10 years ago about "Stage Mothers" and it has had a rather negative effect on my view of the dance world ever since.

But I needn't have worried. I chatted to friends and her teacher, put my own fears aside and she has been absolutely loving it. So much so that our home has slowly become one big dance floor as she Jete's up the hallway, does jump splits every time she enters the living room and saunters up and down the galley kitchen with a few tap-shuffles and ball-changes a la Ginger Rogers.

As parents, you really have no idea what the girls actually get up to in class because it's not a spectator sport. It's a bit secretive and you have to wait until the mid-year Eisteddfod to see what your daughter has been up to the last 6 months.

So last week was that moment. Her group performed 3 routines in the Eisteddfod - a Song and Dance number, a Tap number and a Jazz number. It was brilliant! I was absolutely amazed at how much she had learnt and how well she performed. I felt every emotion as I sat in the audience. I was felt nervous waiting for her to come onto the stage, had a big smile across my face as she did her routines and I may have shed a little tear at the end as I was completely overcome with pride. Watching your little ones perform or indulge in their passions is one of life's greatest joys I think.

In fact I was so fixated on watching her and only her that I couldn't even tell how well her group did. Apparently they did really really well, scoring a Highly Commended for their Song and Dance, 2nd place for their Jazz and First place for their Tap. Icing on the cake.

So I survived my first Eisteddfod. I'm quite proud of my attempts in the hair department and only had to do 5 minutes worth of hand-sewing on some final touches on the costumes. It was really quite painless. No scary Mothers or scary Offspring. In fact the only stressful thing about the Eisteddfod was getting 5 Kids out the door by 9am and then trying to keep 4 busy little boys entertained for the hours until her routines were on. But they too loved watching their big sister on the stage so all that waiting around for the 3 minutes of glory was worth it on all counts. Once a year? Yes, I think I can handle that.



17 comments :

  1. She looks gorgeous Mel, such a little stunner and what beautiful costumes. How lovely she has found a hobby she's so passionate about and how lovely for you to have been able to see her showcase her talents xx

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  2. Aww she looked completely stunning (and so proud of herself in the second photo!).

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  3. It's great for their confidence although I did fall very short when it came to Eldest Beas hair for her first and only ballet exam. I was told it wouldn't do, I've never been good with hair, we never went back, but she never liked it much anyway, the ballet not the hair!! You're daughter looks just like a dancing star! :) x

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  4. Oh look at her in her costume!! She looks fabulous. I bet you were proud, what a moment to treasure. x

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  5. Brilliant.. What a lovely mummy to encourage her to explore her dreams

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  6. She's lovely, Mel. I'm glad she's enjoying it so much. You must be so proud of her.

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  7. She is a gorgeous little girl ... it's really lovely she enjoys dancing so much ... you must have been beaming with pride ... Bee xx

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  8. She looks amazing and as a mum of two boys it is lovely to have a peep in to a girls world

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  9. Such a lovely post. Fab hair and I can see a lot of you in the 2nd photo as well. X

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  10. Your beautiful, talented girl. you must be one very proud mumma. x

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  11. Look. At. Her. She's glowing ... her passion shines through! Of course you're proud, who wouldn't be :) And you did a great job on her hair!

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  12. She looks so happy and proud of herself ( and gorgeous). My girl has just gone back to ballet/tap after a 6 month break (due to my gross disorganization and general life chaos) and is loving it. Gosh I would want to do it just for the fab costumes. mel x

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  13. Mel...she looks amazing!!! How proud you would have been! That first photo...just gorgeous xx

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  14. Aww doesn't she look super cute! I'd be scared of eisteddfods too. I used to deal with dance schools when organising the Gold Coast show and some of those dancing mothers can be nutters. I think you just need to find the right school!

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  15. That's funny, I just wrote a blog post containing the word 'jete' too! Your daughter looks amazing, good for her!

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  16. What an amazing young lady you are raising Mel. xx

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