Spring Dance Recital

Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. Little Miss Sydney. She has been working on memorizing choreography this year and her teacher had them start out completely on their own. When the girls really began to struggle, she helped a bit from the side. This studio is really big on getting the kids independent from teachers during performance. It can be a tough lesson, but an important one.

These first photos are on recital day and then a month later we took some shots in the backyard. Due to Covid-19, the recital took place outdoors where it initially rained and then was sweltering hot and humid for the rest. The dancers did great though and I'm glad they could showcase all their hard work! Sydney has loved ballet so much, I think she's ready to take on another class or two.

Next is Gita and Ireland's ballet:

Oh were they excited for this one! To have a Harry Potter theme was pretty magical and they got to use wands which they loved. We had a lot of fun taking photos in these costumes.

Ireland has Luna Lovegood's wand which is my favorite because the handle is a tulip.

Some wizard battles on the trampoline:

Gita and Ireland jazz:

I think this was my favorite costume of the bunch.

Surprisingly, they really enjoyed being in class together.

Gita and Ireland hip hop:

The studio owner originally wanted black leggings with this top and looking at the weather I checked with the other moms and asked if we could switch it to hot pants. Anything to keep the girls a little cooler would help! This is a cute top but itchy so they had to wear another layer under it.

I received this text from another dance mom:

Ireland lyrical:

Wow. Where to start with this one. Ireland doesn't have the greatest self-confidence when it comes to dance. She's compared herself to Liesel a lot and was on the verge of giving up. Another dance mom mentioned to me that perhaps lyrical would be Ireland's style. While Liesel loves the fast and hard-hitting moves of hip-hop, lyrical is slower and more emotional. Because Ireland was the only on in her class that meant a solo for recital and I have to say she crushed it. Her solo brought me (and I'm told others) to tears. She actually had a swollen knee for the recital so she couldn't do her routine as perfectly as she wanted, but my heart nearly burst with mama pride watching her dance so beautifully. The way she ends the routine there bathed in sunlight was just stunning.

Liesel ballet:

Since the music was to the Marvel theme, Liesel's group would always say "ching" when they did their final pose. For the recital, they did it quietly and a few of them cracked up, which you can see in the video. 

Liesel wanted to try some Avenger poses. Hulk:

Iron Man:

Thor:

Liesel jazz:

Originally they were going to have cowboy hats but they got lost in the shuffle.

Liesel hip hop:

This was Liesel's favorite. She liked the funky costume and how the routine was weird.

At home, I told her to do some "broken doll" poses. She wasn't sure what that was so I said to just act like she has really bad menstrual cramps and she's in a bad mood.

She kept cracking up though...

Liesel lyrical:

We really owe this one to Whitney. On the flight back from Sarasota I showed her a video of Liesel's routine. She made some comments like, "She has good feet" and "You can see her flexibility here" that for the life of me I couldn't see. I asked for details and Whitney slowed it down and went frame by frame, explaining the tiny things my eye wasn't catching. When we were back home, Whitney asked Liesel to run it for her and gave her some feedback. Liesel hadn't been enjoying lyrical- she felt like she didn't really connect with the girls in her class. Hip hop is a better fit for her personality and she told me she wanted out of lyrical. That is, until Whitney showed interest. Suddenly Liesel was all fired up so show off her flexibility, leaps (which have been strengthened by her time on the trampoline) and grace.

Some sister pictures:

The tradition photo of all the girls in our ward: