Born to Dance!

We have the good fortune of living across the street from a very generous neighbor, who's 5 year old daughter decided she didn't like dancing lessons. Thanks to this neighbor, La Nina was handed a dance bag that included tights, leotards, ballet shoes, tap shoes and a tutu. She was thrilled and has been intrigued about dance lessons since receiving the dance kit. After seeing the girls dancing at the Between the New Year's Party, La Nina has been begging for dance lessons.

Since I was planning to find her some sort of an activity class, I called a few dance studios earlier this week and found an opening in a class that took kids over 2.5 years. The teacher was wonderful and allowed La Nina to preview the class without committing to a series.

So, off we went to La Nina's first dance lesson: Me, La Nina and the Magster. La Nina was decked out in her full dance outfit and looked adorable. The Magster decked out in her overalls looked devilish. I tried my best to explain dance lessons to La Nina in the van on the way to the class, but she shocked me by asking about chickens. Yes, you read it correctly. Chickens. La Nina wanted to know if she could pet the chickens at her dance class. In fact, she wanted to know if the chickens lived upstairs or in the barn. After trying in vain to explain jazz and tap classes didn't involve chickens, I realized perhaps La Nina was a little confused on the dance class concept.

As for the class itself, La Nina was intrigued, but overwhelmed. She is very young for the class and it was a stretch for her. She loved the music and looking at her self in the mirror, but she was intimidated by the structure. She did a couple of little steps every now and then, but she spent most of the class with her fingers in her mouth, watching from the sidelines. For her the high point of the class was the treat at the end.

Keeping the Magster contained for 45 minutes was hell. If her sister was reluctant to get out on the dance floor, Maggie had no such reservations. She couldn't wait to dance with the big girls. Every chance she got, she sprinted onto the dance floor and did a little jig. When she wasn't running into the middle of class, she was in my arms, screaming to get down. I distracted her with some goldfish for awhile, but in all, she was a nut the whole 45 minutes. The parents watching the class found it very amusing, but I didn't really find it all that funny. If La Nina wants to go back to class, we will have to find somewhere for her sister to go.

I don't know if La Nina will have any interest in going back to class. It is her decision. She has been practicing a few of the steps around the house, so I know she is intrigued...even if she didn't get to pet the chickens. Either way, the sight of my baby dressed in her little dance outfit was worth the pain of taking her sister to class.