With having two little girls I knew that we would have dance involved in our lives. I always wanted to put my girls in dance and soccer and I figured I would do so until they could voice that they wanted something else. Kadence went along with soccer but wasn't a big fan of the ball at all. Shelby didn't want soccer because she didn't want to kick something. Instead she wanted to try pageants. (That just about killed me!) Despite wanting nothing to really do with soccer besides watching RSL play, both girls really loved dance. I'm not saying they have always been great or taken it seriously but they love it. Both have said many times over many different years that they want to dance when they grow up. Finding Dance Illusion has really been so good for both girls. The owner and staff are simply amazing. They offer so much encouragement and really help build confidence in these little girls. (And boys) What's even better is that they have amazing competition teams and really focus on technique in all of their levels of dance. We had to take Kadence out mid year but Shelby continued on. At her dance recital there were trophies and ribbons displayed that the competition teams had won. Shelby decided she wanted to be on the team so she could win a trophy. I tried to explain to her that you don't just get a trophy, you have to work really hard. She told me that she would work hard. I then said that most of the girls on the competition team have been dancing more seriously for longer than her. She understood. I also mentioned that she wasn't nearly flexible enough. She understood that too. Either way she wanted to audition. She stretched every morning and every night. I also signed her up for a summer class which was musical theater. She was in LOVE! It was a little hard because for 4 weeks she went to tumbling and musical theater and Kadence wasn't able to do either. I would take her out for ice cream and we had fun, but it was hard for her to watch her sister be able to do the thing she loves so much. She never complained and just was excited for her sister. Parents were invited to come to the end of the 4th class to see what they were working on. Shelby learned a little dance to Mrs Maisey from Seussical the Musical. She also learned another dance to Hard Knock Life from Annie. My phone freaked out when trying to record the second dance of course. She loved it and it was fun to see how much she grew in such a short amount of time.
I decided to let her audition. I think you learn a lot by trying and failing to be honest and even though I didn't think she would make the team I thought it would be a great opportunity for her. I explained to her that she would try this year, but that she probably wouldn't make it. I told her that it would help her to know what it's like to audition so she'd be better prepared for tryouts next year. She understood completely and still wanted to try. We sent her off to her tryout clinic and when I peaked in toward the end I was so happy to see her keeping up mostly with the other girls. She had fun and was so excited. We practiced and practiced all night. One problem was that we thought she would be able to hold on while doing her heal stretch and that wasn't the case so she had less than a day to figure out how to balance well enough. She went to tryouts feeling confident. Never in my life did I think a child of mine would let me drop them off to go to a closed audition with about 25-30 other girls. I was always way to shy for something like that. When I came to pick her up she was so happy. She felt she did her best and she told me that she was able to do her heal stretch! The following Monday was when the teams would be announced. We watched all evening online. If she made it we were going to drive her to the studio to see the results and if she didn't we were just going to tell her at home. While waiting David had to rush out to go help his family with something pretty serious. This changed our plans completely, but you have to do what you have to do. About 20 minutes after he left the website was updated and....
Shelby had made the "Tiny Company". I tried to wait until David was home to tell her, but it was getting really late and she knew that she would know before bed. She had asked a few times and I tried to push it off as long as I could. I then made a note and recorded it so David could see....
She started dancing all around the room and did a celebratory heal stretch
She had her team dance camp which was 2 1/2 hours for 3 days in a row. She LOVED it! Here she is after class one of the days. She got glasses that said "We're 'LOOKING' forward to a great year" She thought it was great!
I'm so proud of her and how hard she worked. She still stretches every morning. She isn't someone who is naturally flexible so she has to work harder than other girls. She's determined though and she's so excited to compete!
Kadence will also be taking dance starting this Fall. She'll have a Jazz/Ballet class and then her and Shelby will also take a musical theater class together. I will be at the studio 4 days a week, we'll be out a lot of money too but it is so worth it. My girls love it and I love to watch them do what they love. Kadence is so excited to start dance and I'm so grateful to a studio who is willing to work with her and her inability to bend. I know this means that her sister is going to pass her ability quickly, in fact she already has. What we are hoping is that she will learn to point, learn proper form and technique and learn how to perform. Then when she gets her other rod at age 13 or 14 she will be able to bend somewhat or at least not be restricted in her movement. Then she can chase her dreams of being a dancer and hopefully have the technique already. I love these girls and I love to watch them perform.
