I made the joke on Saturday that Dance Recital day is one of my favorite days of the year and one of the other moms raised her eyebrows and said “Really?!” It’s probably hard to imagine because we spend twelve hours running up and down flights of stairs, swapping out tights and costumes and hair accessories with no thanks and I’m pretty sure I didn’t manage to eat a bite of lunch until sometime around 3:30. The thing is, it’s a day spent with little girls smiles and glitter and any day spent watching them do what they love best is a day well-spent in my book.
Since Ella’s team performs in all three recitals, we were up early with a full face of makeup and a car packed to the gills. We left Sophie lounging at home with her daddy while we grabbed Chick-fil-A for breakfast and headed downtown for a 10:15 call time.
Their first performance of the day was ballet. You haven’t seen these costumes yet, because they don’t perform ballet during competition season. They were dancing to a patriotic number and were dressed as Rockettes. I adore this costume and they looked beautiful on stage! I was trying to grab a picture of a few of them in the hall outside their dressing room and Kristen ran in to photobomb them. These girls are so much fun.
Since we have taken PLENTY of photos in her other two costumes this year, I wasn’t as worried about capturing them as I was these. It doesn’t help that they have to be dressed an hour in advance of show time, so there was plenty of posing to do.
I didn’t grab any pictures in their competition costumes because we were too busy getting in the swing of things and figuring out their schedule for the day. I did manage a group shot in their finale costume, though. All of the competition teams danced together to Celebrate and We Are Family to celebrate the 25th anniversary of our studio. Each team wore a different colored skirt and it looked SO GOOD on stage.
Tazzie’s class performed in the afternoon recital this year {thank goodness says her daddy}. I was glad to have one recital under my belt before she got there, but also glad not to have two little girls in the evening performance {the largest and craziest of the day}. Since having two little girls in two dressing rooms on two different floors is pretty much a nightmare, I got her ready in Ella’s dressing room instead. The competition teams have private rooms with mirrors and makeup lights, while the little girls are all in a giant room together, with no hanging space and very little counter space. It was a no-brainer. After she was all dolled up for the day, I walked her up to hang out with Jennifer and Braylen while I changed out Ella’s hair for her next number.
I cannot get over how adorable these two are together. This is their second year in dance and although they decided that it wasn’t for them this year, they managed to finish out the year with lots of smiles and loved the recital. Who knows what next year holds, but we’re hoping to find lots of time for them to hang out.
After Sophie’s performances, I took her out to sit with our families in the audience and discovered that Josh and my parents had the perfect seats! I hate that I missed Ella’s ballet performance and Sophie’s dances from this perspective, but I did get some great ones of Ella during her jazz dance and the finale.
That’s her below with the massive blond bun, second from the right.
And again in the center of the stage.
The teachers all did a great dance together to celebrate the studio’s 25th anniversary. It is always so fun to see them dance and this year was PERFECT.
After the show, we hung out with our families for a bit before Ella had to get ready for the evening show. I am sick that I somehow managed not to get a photo of the girls together by themselves, but I do have these great ones with the grandparents.
Of course, every family photo attempt looks something like this. I did manage to snag one where everyone was smiling, but I couldn’t resist sharing this one. Sophie pretty much poses or makes a funny face in the first shot we take EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.
By the time 9 o’clock rolled around, the moms were exhausted and hoping for a reprieve, but in true form these girls were still quite energized and begging for frozen yogurt. A big group of us drove to a local place and let them giggle and dance for another. Taking ten girls in full stage makeup to a popular dessert location is always interesting. They got plenty of attention!
The dance recital is usually the finale for our season, but this year Ella has one last performance {next week} at nationals in Panama City Beach. It was so weird to pack up dance costumes and makeup while trying to get us ready for the beach, but she’s so excited about spending one last day dancing with her friends this summer… at least until Summer Intensive starts.
Forgive one more week of {almost} radio silence. We’ll be at the beach until Father’s Day and posting might be sporadic {thanks to sketchy wifi}. See you soon!
