The Dancer and the Giggler

The camp of the week was the Disney Dance Camp put on by a local ballet studio. (In our town, there is a camp every single week all summer if you want to find one.) For two hours every day the girls went to dance lessons. But it wasn't just dance lessons. There were arts and crafts, tea parties, tap, ballet, jazz and today was the grand finale...a performance of all the dances they learned.

Last year, dance camp was a disaster. (I just checked my archives. I can't believe I never wrote about it.) Only La Nina was old enough and the Magster drove me batty with her repeated assaults on the class. I couldn't keep the kid out of the studio. And worse: La Nina was sitting against the wall sucking her fingers the whole time. It was so bad, we skipped the last day and I almost didn't sign up again this year, but I hate to give up so easily on something I think is perfect for La Nina, so we gave it another try.

What a difference a year makes. Despite the fact Maggie was supposed to be 3, I enrolled her in the class too. The girls had a friend E. in the class, and between E. and Maggie, La Nina was shamed into participation. And lo and behold, she discovered dancing was pretty fun. Needless to say, we have had statements like, "Mom, I just love dancing." and "Mom, Can I go to dance camp forever?" coming from La Nina all week.

So, today was the big day: all the parents were invited to watch the class perform. The kids were fired up and Daddy took the afternoon off work to attend. The teachers put hats on all the girls that were decorated with their names and sparkles, and led the dancers into the room. The girls all looked very serious as they entered and there were some nervous finger sucking, hair twirling and fidgeting before the music started. And once the music began: dancing.

La Nina was totally focused on following the teacher. She was jumping, shaking her booty, kicking her feet, following along. What she didn't have in coordination, she made up for in effort. And you know, she did pretty good. Her sister giggled. For the entire first song, the Magster giggled. There was no dancing from the Magster for a good 3 minutes. Oh, Maggie did settle down and dance after the first song, but it really was a more of an interpretive dance based loosely on what the class was doing. She was the epitome of "having a good time." And did I mention the giggling?

As for the Dad and I, it was all we could do to contain our laughter. The whole class was so darned cute. From the little girl hiding on the edge with her teacher to the girls like La Nina totally focused on the teacher to the Magster doing her own thing, it was absolutely delightful. I didn't want either girl to see me laughing and I did my best to stifle my mirth. It was painful and eventually, tears were streaming down my cheeks. All the people around me probably assumed I was a "sentimental" mom, but no, I was a "hysterical" mom who couldn't let it out.

At the end of it all, I asked the girls if they wanted to take Dance Lessons. La Nina answered: "Oh, Yes Mom. I love dancing." The Magster answered: "Mom, I want to kick a ball." Somehow, those answers didn't surprise me.

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For those who are interested: My story on the Hall of Fame published today in the Pleasanton Weekly. It's the lead story in Living.