Ballet

Diana started a ballet class today - her very first dance class ever! I'm so excited to finally have my little twinkle toes in a dance class! Growing up, I ALWAYS wanted to take a ballet class but never could because they were way too expensive (I grew up in California, in the Bay Area, and for those of you who have lived there or been there, you know EVERYTHING costs a fortune). My one dream, aside from my lifelong dream of being a professional singer, was of being a ballerina. I used to watch the Nutcracker all the time and dance along to all the songs. My mom and Grandma would buy me ballet slippers every Christmas and birthday, and I loved each pair so much that I'd literally wear them ragged. I'd wear them everywhere...even school. I was super flexible, I (thought I) was graceful, I could even walk on my tip toes (literally, on the tips of my toes, and I still can, though it hurts like a bugger!). But, alas, for me, it was never meant to be. However, when I had this little beauty of mine and she began to walk and I saw how she walked everywhere on her tip toes, I KNEW when she was old enough I just HAD to put her in ballet classes, because I felt in my heart that she would grow up loving ballet just as much as I did. So about a month or two ago, Mike and I started looking around trying to find a good ballet class for a good deal for her and found a class for her age group at the Desert Breeze Community Center near us for $14 for 6 weeks, so we signed her right on up, and here we are today!
When we first walked into the dance hall, she seemed a little intimidated, but I tried to act as confident and non-coddling as I could. I didn't want her to think there was any reason to be nervous or afraid. At one point as the teacher was finishing up giving instruction to us parents I had picked Diana up at her fervent request. A few minutes later the teacher asked me to put her down (since they were about to start) and I realized I wasn't doing her any favors by babying her. I knew if I didn't start expecting her to be brave and confident that she wouldn't be. So, after I put her down, I pointed to her teacher, told her her teacher's name, and explained that her teacher was in charge and she needed to listen to her teacher, and that she was going to be ok, because she was a big, brave girl.
For the first couple of minutes after the actual dancing started, she acted a little shy and uncertain as to what she should do, so her teacher invited me (and the other parents of kids who were nervous) to join in with the dance moves. So, I stood next to Diana and began following the teacher with a smile on my face, trying not to distract Diana from her teacher's instructions. After about 2 minutes, I walked back and sat down and Diana continued to participate, but now she was looking a lot less nervous. After that exercise ended and as they were switching to a  new one, Diana started to look a little uncertain again and walked over to me, and as I told her to follow the other kids into a circle in the middle of the room, a sweet little girl in the class ran over, grabbed Diana by the arm and with a big, sweet smile said "Come on!" and pulled Diana into the group. The girl's mom was sitting next to me and seemed embarrassed that her daughter was being so forceful, but I assured the mom that a friend is what Diana really needed to warm up, and sure enough, it was EXACTLY what she needed. After that, Diana had no issues and happily followed the teacher's directions. It was so fun to watch her try to mimic the teacher's movements, even when I could tell she had no idea what the teacher was doing and would just stand there staring. By the time class ended, she didn't want to go and had even started to talk a little (she's like me, when she's nervous, she clams up tight and when she's comfortable she won't shut up). The teacher openly praised Diana for her participation and with amazement asked me if Diana had ever taken a dance class before, or was/had ever been in Preschool or Daycare, to all of which I answered no. I explained that she spent two hours in Nursery every Sunday, to which the teacher replied, "Whatever they're doing, they, and you, are doing it right! She listens so well and is SO attentive!" She kept saying how amazed she was about how well Diana paid attention and participated, especially since this was her very first day. I was so proud, especially since I was nervous as heck before I brought her to class about her acting like a wild animal since lately she doesn't listen so well to me when we're at home. But there's a lot more to why Diana doesn't listen so well to me lately. Anyway, bottom line is, after a few minutes of getting comfortable with her surroundings, she did great, and I'm so proud of her! I was under a bit of anxiety the whole class, hoping she wouldn't act up or have a melt down, or run around aimlessly, and trying to not distract her from her teacher while the teacher was instructing, but Diana really did well, and that makes me so happy.
The whole way home Diana kept telling me how much fun she had dancing. It was so cute to hear and it made me happy because I felt like that was confirmation to me that putting her in the dance class really was a good decision. On the way home, we stopped by Target and bought her a brand new dace outfit for her to wear to her classes and when we got home she wanted to wear it around the house. With my help, she showed Mike some of the dance moves she learned today and she was so proud of herself.
I'm excited to have her in this class and for all the good it will do my little music-loving, toe-walking dancer! And now I'm kicking myself for not getting any pictures of her. Maybe next week. :)