Back to Ballet

Over the years, I've posted sweet pictures of my little ballerina.  Well, she isn't so little anymore, but she has been gifted with an amazingly graceful, ballerina-like stature (all from her dad!).

Two years ago, divorce forced us to take a financial break from dance.  It broke my heart.  And if it broke hers, she never let on...

...but, dancing since she was three, she terribly missed it.

So, last year, come hell or high water, I was going to figure out a way to get her back into dance.  I knew that I could not afford lessons at an expensive studio, nor could I afford for her to audition for dance team, but some simple ballet/tap/jazz lessons to get her moving again was something I could afford.  After a lot of phone calls and searching, I was able to get her into some weekly private lessons with two other girls and a former dance instructor-turned private teacher.  It was the perfect fit for us.

The following pictures are of Mary dancing with Miss Cheyenne at the local rec studio in Eudora, Kansas.  She was rusty after a year off, but it quickly came back to her.  Her beauty and grace amaze me.

This school year (2017-2018), I got a bit more bold with my finances (and her father) and enrolled her in a dance conservatory.  This studio's focus is on classical training...which she bemoaned in the beginning...

...but her growth has been amazing.  AND, more importantly, she has begun to find a passion for ballet.  Tap and jazz have always been her love, but you can't take those classes without the fundamentals of dance acquired through ballet.  She's always moaned and groaned about ballet class.  But this year...oh this year has been so amazing.  To see her actually be excited to go to ballet class is wonderful.  She's already prepping for advancement to pre-pointe!  Very exciting.

Here are a few pics from her new studio.  I sat in the last week of December classes for parent watch week...the ballet training was intense.  She is usually famished after dance classes and now i know why.  These pictures are from her first week of dance in August.

She is all legs... and never without a book...that's my girl!!!