L's dance competition

L had her first dance competition!

Grammy arrived early in the morning to attend with us.  So we spent the morning lounging with sisters, slowing packing and readying.  Soon, we left A and E with Daddy (deciding it would be too and difficult of a day for them) while L, Grammy and I drove to the competition.  We arrived and found her studio's prep room.  It was chock full of dancer, mom's and piles of costumes.  She dressed and wiggled with excitement as I did her hair and make up.  Her adorable little team called the "Sparkles", made up of 6 girls ages 5-6, competed as a "novice jazz" entry.  (meaning they all had been dancing less than one year and dance less than 3 hours a week.)  They preformed "Singing in the Bathtub" and did great.  They were full of smiles and adorable innocent sparkle.  After Bathtub, they dressed for the production number, "Calling All the Monsters" which is four groups from the studio, ages 5-10.  They practiced awhile in their prep room and then lined up on the floor.  It was the first time I had seen this routine and it was amazing!  Their costumes were incredible and the dance was adorable.  It had a ton of charm and showmanship personality.

After her Monsters dance, she dressed in playclothes again and we ran a few errands.  The three of us went to dinner at Chili's (her choice) and had a blast.  One of my favorite things about the whole day was getting the one-on-one time with her.  She's charming and wonderful and it's hard to find time for that one-on-one.  And we loved having time with Grammy too.  We got to relax and play and I got to help the studio directors while Grammy always made sure we had great seats to watch.

We returned to the competition to find the gym stage wrapping up for the day.  L was really upset at first because she hadn't gotten to watch any other studios preform.  Luckily we found the auditorium stage and settled in to watch several numbers preformed by some of the older groups.  It was so fun to sit and whisper as we analyzed their performances.  She loved the costumes, the long extensions and graceful turns.  She balked at the more suggestive hip hop styles and we all found some of the musical theater numbers and little weird.  But her favorite was the lyrical numbers.  The awards ceremony was long, starting with a list of auctions and recognitions.  But finally the teams were invited to the stage.  L and a friend from her class headed for the stage and some of the older girls helped them find a place to sit.  I think she was a little bewildered by the chaos and excitement.  But she got to stand and received applause as the adjudication awards were read.  Bathtub and Monsters both received a Gold.  And then the judges awards were presented.  Bathtub received a choreography award (L got to stand and accept it!) and Monsters won the Costume Award.  But I was most proud of our studio receiving the Sportsmanship Award.

Soon we collected our little dancer and all her gear, loaded her into the car and began our long drive home.  She was asleep in minutes.  :)