Dancing Keeps Them on Their Toes

I haven't blogged since way back last year.....December 15, 2009, that is. Looks like I have some catching up to do. So, I'm going to backtrack a bit here and hopefully in the next few days bring this blog into the current decade.

December was a month of dance, dance, dance for Mallory and her cousins. She and Corinne performed in the Mountain West Ballet production of The Nutcracker, so they were busy with dress rehearsals, group pictures and performances. That month they also performed Christmas dances and demonstrations at their ballet school.

It's always fun to go to their December class demonstrations and see the progress the girls have made. When Mallory and Corinne were teeny little 3- and 4-year-olds just starting out in ballet, Jan and I used to joke about whether we were getting our money's worth when we would watch them perform. But as the years have gone on, we've seen vast improvements and know that those hours spent in lessons, as well as all the money spent on leotards, tights and shoes is definitely worth it. Mallory went through a rough patch a couple of years ago where she really wanted to quit dancing. Being the mean mom I am, I told her she had to stick it out until she got on pointe.

I'm so glad I stuck to my guns and didn't let her quit.

It's been almost a year since Corinne and Mallory got their first pointe shoes. Mallory's attitude toward dance has changed dramatically since then. It's amazing to me to watch those girls get up on those toes and dance. It's so impressive to see their skills and grace.

And yes, Jan and I still occasionally threaten the girls that we're going to enroll in adult ballet lessons. Nothing strikes more fear into the heart of a teen or pre-teen than the mental image of her leotard-clad mother leaping around the ballet studio.

(Actually, that mental image kind of scares me, too....)

Anyway....my dreams of being a ballerina may never come true, but I can still enjoy watching Mallory, Corinne and Katelyn, my favorite little dancers.

:)