New Dance School

Katie's first dance lesson of the new school year was this afternoon.  I tried to sign her up for class on Tuesday after lunch since she doesn't go to school that day but the class was already full.  I decided to sign her up for Monday afternoon at 4:00 because I figured that it wouldn't get over too late and interfere with dinner.  The only bad part about that time is that Michael has to come too but I figure Katie has been to so many of his things that it's only fair.

This year Katie's class is a tap and ballet combo for 3 and 4 year olds, which is the same as last year.  She is taking class at the Dance Dept this year.  She was not old enough to attend there last year.  She was so excited for the first day of class and has been talking about it for the past few weeks.  We got her new ballet and tap shoes at the end of last week.  Katie walked around the house all afternoon with the ballet slippers on.

The class is 45 minutes long and takes place behind closed doors.  They have a few classes per year that they open up for the parents to watch and there is a recital at the end of the year.  As soon as Katie came out of the first class, she started talking about what they did.  She let me know that they did tap first and then ballet.  They also danced to some music that she really liked.

Before class

Worn out after class

I really enjoy watching her excitement for dance.  Considering that she is not the most girly girl, I wondered how dance would go.  She really seems to have fun and that is all that matters!

Katie's Dance Recital

Sunday afternoon was the recital for Katie's dance class.  She has been attending class every week since September and it was now time to show us what she had learned.  At the beginning of the year, she was moved up to the 3 year old tap/ballet class because there was no one else registered for the pre-ballet for 2 year olds.  She really enjoyed learning both tap and ballet and love going to dance class once she got the hang of it.

The theme for the show was Under the Big Top.  All of the numbers had to do with the circus.  Katie looked absolutely adorable in her pink sequined leotard, fluffy tutu and matching sequin headband.  She even let her hair be put up in a bun for the performance.  Each dancer came out one at a time and walked across the front of the stage as their name was called out.  Katie was not shy at all.

The dancing started and Katie did the dance quite well.  It was so cute as she watched the girl who was dancing next to her for some of the moves.  She smiled a lot and did most of the steps that were in the dance.  At the end of the recital, each dancer was called to come to the front of the stage to do a jump and then a curtsy in front of the instructor.  Katie got a flower and a certificate for her participation in the class. 

My parents got Katie a small bunch of flowers and lollipops, which Michael gave to her after the performance.  He was so happy to give it to her and told her what a great job she did.  During the performance, he turned around a couple of times and told me how well Katie was dancing.  I never get tired of hearing him say things like that!

When she thinks no one is looking

Katie has been taking dance for a month and a half now. It has been taken her some time to get used to going into class by herself. She was originally signed up for the 2 year old pre-ballet class. Since she was the only one in there, the rec center cancelled the class and she was moved up to the 3/4 year old ballet/tap combo class. For the first 2 weeks, she would not do much dancing at all but she was quietly observing.

As I have found out over the past few weeks, she is intently studying what the teacher is doing and repeating it at home. Of course, this is only when she thinks no one is looking. I caught her singing the ballerina song in her room. Katie also did an impromptu dance in her crib this morning for David, the little boy I watch, when he got here this morning. I know she thought I wasn't looking.

It's so cute to hear Katie talking about dancing and to do the steps. I asked her earlier today to do some dance but she didn't want to. I asked her to do it tonight for her uncle and she turned on the charm. She did some tap steps and a plie with her arms over her head. I love watching her and am so glad that she is having fun.

Katie really looks forward to going to dance now every week. Last night, we were talking about what we were doing today and she told me she was going to dance. Too cute!

First Ballet Class

Tuesday was Katie's first dance class. I had called to several dance studios around us and all of them will not take kids until they are 3 years old. I finally found a class at a local rec center and it will be on Tuesday afternoons.

The class is pre-ballet and it is just for 2 year olds. Well, I guess that most of the other 2 year olds are doing something else because Katie was the only one in the class! I figured that she wouldn't actually do any dance but she did let the teacher show her what to do. They sat together on the floor and listened to music while talking about dance. The class lasted about 40 minutes, which I thought was pretty good for Katie. It was nice to have the class to herself because she got to ease into the setting.

The highlight of the class was getting a pink stamp on her hand at the end. As we were leaving, I asked her if she wanted to come back again next week. She said that she would and she told me she wants to dance "The Nutcracker".