It's a wrap! (I know... that's a bit of a corny title)

I think that this post is going to be a bit all over the place as I try to cover a few things, so bear with me.

Yesterday was the recital, and yes, I am a bit biased as my three children and wife all performed, but I think it was among the best I've seen in five years. I blogged a bit yesterday about Friday's dress rehearsal and how amazing the dances were. Well, take that and triple it for the actual show. There was an obvious uptick in everyone's performance yesterday... kicks were higher, smiles were wider.

At the recital, in addition to the performances, there is an opening and closing number. I think that this year's was the best yet. I heard this afterwards from other people in the audience as well. There were kids from all age levels involved and it was one ensemble after another as part of an up-tempo/rock version of 'Mother Goose'.

One other observance I had that was also shared by some other parents I spoke with was the talent among the younger kids. There were groups of kids that I'm guessing were five and six and up through thirteen and fourteen that were truly amazing. 'Jack be Nimble' from the opening act was incredible not only in the opening, but in every dance she was in.

Being a 'Dance Dad' has been a great experience. I never had any exposure to children's instructional dance prior to this. This year my oldest daughter celebrated five years and it was an interesting milestone. This year was her second year of competitions and her love of dance is quite obvious. One of my absolute favorite things is to watch her unconsciously be tapping a dance sequence as she makes her way through the kitchen. She'll be talking to you about her day and instead of standing still, her feet are busy in a flurry of steps.

One of the best decisions we made too was getting our son involved in dance as well. He's turning out to be a natural in just about every sport he tries and he is a great dancer. He's got this amazing spring in his step that propels him across a room. I honestly hope that he sticks with dance. He's been having a great time so far.

My youngest daughter just completed her second year. Watching her on stage brings back memories of my oldest daughter. It's a lot of fun to watch her try to emulate her brother and sister... especially since she's learned the words to the songs and a lot of the steps.

I'll be writing more soon too about how getting the kids involved in dance has gotten my wife dancing again as well!

Recital Day

It's Recital Day today! Last evening was the dress rehearsal. It's always great to watch the entire dress rehearsal because as a parent with three kids in the show, on Recital Day, you don't always get the opportunity to see every performance. Plus, during the recital, performances come out one right after another. During the rehearsal, there are some pauses in between acts to finalize positioning and what not. What's great too is that the kids in the show get to see the other classes perform in full costume on stage.

My kids woke up this morning talking about two performances in particular: 'Jock Jams' and 'Pirates of the Caribbean'. 'Jock Jams' was a performance by the Senior Tap Company where the girls were dressed as team members from the Celtics, Red Sox, Patriots and Bruins. The girls performing were obviously having a great time doing it and it was contagious to the audience of friends and relatives at the rehearsal. I'm sure it's going to be a hit today. My kids were in the living room this morning attempting to emulate them by locking arms and doing kicks.

Next, 'Pirates of the Caribbean'... a huge number complete with a ship and Davy Jones' locker. All of the girls in the production were phenomenal. Two in particular I wanted to mention were the girls who played Jack Sparrow and Davy Jones. If you've seen them perform before, they are always terrific. 'Jack Sparrow' managed to emulate Johnny Depp's performance as the oddball pirate while pumping out tap sequences effortlessly. 'Davy Jones' was equally amazing. One thing I found terrific about her performance was in order to replicate Davy Jones' walk with a limp, she was on pointe with one foot. Plus, she performed amazing sequences while wearing a full mask!

The entire company did an outstanding job. The show is the culmination of a lot of hard work all year long by the kids and teachers. It's a lot of fun to see the kids and how excited they by getting up on stage and performing. It is going to be a stellar show as usual.

Opening Act rehearsal

As I mentioned in my last post, the recital is fast approaching. Saturday afternoon, the whole family was at the studio to rehearse the Opening Act number. All the classes have been working on their respective 'numbers' through the year, but the Opening Act is something that they've only been working on for a relatively short time. As always, I was really impressed with how quickly all of the dancers pick things up. You'd swear by watching it that they've been working on it for months and months.

What was fun too was being able to catch a glimpse of the 'Pirates of Caribbean' number. This performance involves over thirty dancers and is comprised of the older students. I've seen photos of the number with everyone in full costume and it truly looks spectacular. My wife and I were watching along with some of the other parents and were in awe by sequences of the dance. We're anxious to see the full production at the recital.

Two weeks 'til Recital

Well, it's two weeks until the annual recital. It's a busy time as everyone is preparing. Teachers are finessing the dances and the kids walk around the house humming or singing their songs without realizing it sometimes. As I wrote in my 'About' profile, my three children and wife all dance at Sally's. It began five years ago with my oldest daughter. She's now in the youngest age dance company and began attending competitions last year. It's been a great five years and I truly look forward to the next five. It's really something to see all the kids advance over time.

When we first enrolled my oldest daughter at Sally's, I didn't know what to expect. My wife had danced as a child, but this was entirely new to me. Now, I look forward to each event, whether going to a competition, attending the annual recital or sitting in class for Observation Week.

When I beam as a proud father, bragging about the talent I have in my family (skipped me somehow), I can go on and on about why I love that they all dance. One of the greatest things I think is that from an early age, they get accustomed to appearing before large groups of people and get excited about it rather than nervous. Next, they are introduced to a healthy lifestyle... stretching, exercise, eating healthy. Then, there are the friendships that they develop with their classmates.

I can (and will) go on more about these things and more in coming posts. It is Saturday morning however, and everyone will soon be getting ready to go to dance class.