Ballet Recital- A Retrospective

Wordless Wednesday- Blumenthal Ballerina!

"If You're Happy and You Know It..."

"If you're happy and you know it..."

"...then your face will surely show it..."

"...if you're happy and you know it..."

"...clap your hands!!"

Happy Halloween- Ballet Fun!

"Last Thursday, we were allowed to wear our Halloween costumes to Ballet class."

"We had a lot of Elsas show up! ;-P"

"It was fun dancing and playing in our Halloween costumes!"

"No tricks here, just treats!"

Wordless Wednesday- Ballet Finale

Ballet Recital 2014

Dancing at the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center

Strike a Pose!

Miss Donna's School of Dance

Fairytale Ballet

Encore!

This past weekend was the culmination of Katy's first year in ballet at Miss Donna's School of Dance. She had her first ballet recital at the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center in Uptown Charlotte. Lil' Miss has always loved to dance around the house, but the end "reward" of getting to dance on stage in a hot pink tutu has definitely sealed her love of dancing!

Katy had a blast getting dressed up, wearing some light make-up and getting her hair done up in bun (thank you, Pinterest for the "sock bun" idea!). Katy's class danced to "Fairytale Ballet." Once they actually got on stage, Lil' Miss was actively looking for us in the audience. She was shading her eyes, looking out into the crowd (when she should have been dancing). She did a good job, though, and everybody thought their dance was cute (Little girls, tutus and all that goes along with that- what's not to love?! I'm not biased at all... ;-).

Of course, Ted had to get her flowers after her performance.  Lil' Miss LOVED them! She even knew how to hold them, by cradling the bouquet in the crook of her arm (Where does she learn that??!)

She's learned a lot, this past year at dance. She loves to show us her arabesque, plie and releve. She definitely prefers ballet over tap. Also, going to ballet once a week has helped her learn to work as a group, follow directions and go out and do something apart from Ted and I. 

I believe it's safe to assume that we'll be returning to Miss Donna's in the fall....!

Wordless Wednesday- On Her Toes

Ballet Observation, March 5, 2014

"Last night was parent observation night at ballet."

"Tap, tap, tap..."

"Doe, rae, me, fa, so, la, tee, doe..."

"Silly ballerina Arabesque."

Miss Donna's School of Dance- Halloween Dress-up

Ballerina Parade in the Plaza

What's even better than ballet? DRESS-UP BALLET!

My favorite Little Ladybug

All this week at ballet, the girls get to come to class dressed up in their Halloween costumes. Since we'll be missing Katy's regular class on Wednesday, she took a make-up class, last night. We happened to find this ladybug costume in a bag of hand-me-down clothes and Katy insisted on wearing it to class. I'm not sure how much "tap" and "ballet" was accomplished, but the girls sure had a lot of fun showing off their costumes and dressing up. There were lots of giggles and laughter!

Doesn't she look cute and cuddly in her ladybug costume?

"Ladybug Picnic"

"One, two, three..."

"...Four, five, six..."

"...Seven, eight, nine..."

"...Ten, eleven, twelve..."

"...And they all played games..."

"...At the ladybugs' picnic..."

"Dancing in the Street"

"...All we need is music, sweet music..." 

"...There'll be music everywhere..."

"...There'll be swingin' swayin', and records playin,..."

"...Dancin' in the street..."

(The last picture is what Katy's ballet teacher calls her "cute face.")

Dancing Ballerina

"Today is Wednesday and that means that it's Ballet day! 

I decided to practice my routine, this afternoon."

"...arabesque..."

"...releve..."

"I LOVE my ballet class!"

Prima Ballerina Katy

"Because Tuesday night was my last (summer) ballet class, Mommy and Daddy got to come in and observe the class."

"First, we started with some tap dancing."

"T is for Tap, tap, tap!"

"Then, we did the 'Fishy Song.' It's not really my favorite song to dance to."

"Lastly, we partnered up and did the 'Lollipop Song.'"

.

"Wheee... I like to twirl!"

"I had fun at my summer ballet class!"

Wordless Wednesday- Ballet Barre

"Baby Take a Bow"

"Everybody's asking me..."

"Who's that bunch of personality..."

"I'm presenting you right now..."

"Baby take a bow."

Prima Ballerina- Katy's First Ballet Class

Our Little Prima Ballerina

Yesterday, Katy attended her first ballet class at Miss Donna's School of Dance (Harrisburg).

She was SOOOOO EXCITED!!!

Katy was dressed in her leotard and tutu by two PM (the class didn't start until six PM). She walked right into the studio once we got there and even spoke loud enough to tell the teacher teachers, Ms. Connie and Ms. Neely, her name without prompting (This is a big deal for us! Our usually talkative, chatty Lil' Miss tends to clam up when meeting new people and/or talking to adults she is unfamiliar with).

HOWEVER, once the studio doors were closed and Katy realized that I was gone.... well, suffice it to say that all of Harrisburg heard her wailing, "I.WANT.MOMMY!!!" I can't say for sure how the lesson went, but I do know that she did stop crying shortly after our initial separation.

At the end of the lesson, all of the parents were allowed into the studio to watch the girls dance the routine that they had just learned. Ms. Connie actually picked Katy out of the crowd and said that she was a pretty good dancer (when she wanted to be). Of course, Katy did very little dancing while the parents observed *sigh* (stage fright?).

Oh well! I still think she had fun and enjoyed herself!

Gangnam Style

"Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style..."

"...Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style..."

"...Eh- Sexy Lady, Oppa is Gangnam style..."

"...Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh..."

"...Oppa is Gangnam style..."

*While we were at the baseball game, last Friday, the song, 'Gangman Style' came on. Immediately, Katy started dancing and grooving. I don't think she's even heard the song, before. Yet, as soon as the song started, she was moving and grooving like PSY and the best of them. Ha!

"Do You Wanna Dance?"

"Do you want to dance under the moonlight...?"

"...Hold me baby all through the night..."

 "...Oh baby, do you want to dance...?"

"...Do you? Do you? Do you..."