Over the last summer, when I found myself with some rare downtime (or when I was in desperate need of a distraction for the Munch), I took to watching a tv show on Hulu called So You Think You Can Dance. The Munch was FASCINATED. After a show would end, she would go around the room doing her very best to copy what the dancers had done--the jumps, the arabesques, the beautiful arm movements, everything. It was super-entertaining to watch, and it got that spark going in me too...I started to realize that she was in fact old enough, and would probably do really well in a class if I could find one that we could afford...no Joffrey just yet. ;) And too, I had recently made a friend at church who wanted to take ballet for herself, and I had jumped at the chance to have a friend to go with...I've been wanting to do ballet again essentially since I had to stop as a kid, but one thing or another had always prevented it. So I started hunting online, looking for places that offered things for kids, places that offered things for adults, and found a little studio not far from our church that actually did both!
In late September, I and my friend signed up for a Ballet Fundamentals class, and I have rarely missed a week since. There is still much to learn, but I feel SO made to do this stuff. It seems silly, but certain stretches just feel RIGHT, like everything in life has built up to that moment to do that stretch, and it was meant to be and had to be. :) Yeah. Ballet Bliss. It's good stuff.
For the Munch, I missed the deadline for registration for the children's fall classes by a week. I later realized I probably could have signed her up for it late anyway, but it was easy enough to wait a few more weeks until late October, when the next quarter began. Plus it meant that I got a feel for the place through my own classes before putting her into anything, which I appreciated. As for dance clothes, I already had one leotard for her, and several different tutus, but we needed shoes and an additional leotard. Since this studio is so close to church, it's only natural that a dance supply shop be in the area too...and in fact it's literally less than a block from church. So the Sunday before her first class, right after service, we headed over there and very soon had a little lavender leotard (they didn't have yellow in her size, sadly) and a pair of pink slippers in hand. We were ready!
Tuesday, October 29th dawned beautiful and sunny, and we set about in our preparations for the big day. I'll admit...Maybe I was a little over-excited. But can you really blame me? This is me reliving one of my favorite parts of my childhood here!! :)
One thing I had learned already from going to my own lessons...you generally have to arrive with time to spare so you can find parking. We were in luck that morning, finding a spot relatively quickly, so we had some time to kill. We made good use of it, and danced all over the room while we waited.
As it turned out, there was only one other little girl who had signed up for that series of classes, and, as her mother and I have continued to sign our girls up for subsequent series, that little one and the Munch have become pretty cute dancing buddies now. But here, perhaps, is the best part...Being able to attend classes on Tuesday has meant a STEAL of a deal for us. Essentially, with only 2 students in the class, these girls are getting one-on-one instruction for the same price as the kids who go to this studio on Saturdays for a similar class that is usually jam-packed with little dancers. And of course the Munch has excelled in this environment. Her teacher thought she was older than she is--height of course being one part of it, but also simply her ability to follow and actually GET the steps. She's learning by literal leaps and bounds...though she would call them sautes (pronounced soe-tays). ;)
Anywho...After that first class, I took her out for a treat. I wanted to go to a little shop in the neighborhood--my absolute favorite ice cream shop called George's--but they didn't open until noon, and class got out at 10:30. So we did a local Baskin Robins instead. The Munch didn't know the difference. She was more than content with her choice of strawberry ice cream!
So now we have our dancing on, and we are both loving it. AND the Munch has her first recital coming up in another couple of months...her teacher was asking me last week what size she wears so that costumes can be ordered. Ahhhhh, this Mama is most pleased. :D
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