My daughters love for dance grew out of her need to socialize. Before my husband joined the military in 2008 I worked in child care. That meant that my kids spent a good part of their day in a child care setting. After he joined and left for basic training, I began having some complicated health issues and had to quit my job. Jacey was only 2 at the time, having spent most of her life with a good group of built in friends, and someone who was paid to entertain and enrich her life, now she was alone all day with boring ole mom.
By the time my husband graduated and we moved to our first duty station, Jacey had invented a nice selection of imaginary friends. She often talked about how they'd play in ballet class together. After her third birthday I decided it might be time to get the poor girl some "real" friends to talk about. So at a little over 3, Jacey started her first ballet class.
Being in a new area I simply went with the option closest to home. It ended up being a great first intro to dance for her age, however by the time recital rolled around it was more than obvious we needed to find a new dance studio. The first place did however plant the seed for a passion for dance and she asked daily if she could go to dance.
We switched just in time for a summer course to try out the new studio. Jacey was still only 4 years old, and the switch was a little hard on her. She'd spend some classes crying and refusing to participate. A couple of times I even had to leave early with her. Still, every day she wanted to go back. The teachers and staff were amazing with her, and all the children. They weren't pushy and were very understanding. Slowly that behavior disappeared into a confident child who felt welcomed and at home in her new studio.
The love she has for dance is constantly growing. She would be at the dance studio all day if I'd allow her. Over her 2 years at this studio she's gone from 1 class, to 3 classes, and will likely be at 4 come this fall. She takes ballet, acro, jazz, has tried hip-hop, and will be trying out tap this summer. Her dance bag is bigger than she is now.
I feel it is important for parents to see that the desire to dance has to come from within the child. It's nothing forced, dance is always something special that she gets to do. It's my job as her parent to nurture that wisely so it continues to grow for as long as she'd like. If I were to get too into it and allow her to take the 5 classes she wants to take, that could easily burn her out. There needs to be balance and support. There will be plenty of time in years to come for her to spend hours in a dance studio if she chooses.
It is clear to the people who teach her dance as well, that this girl loves to be in class. She loves to learn new steps. She loves the words, the names, the positions. She loves to watch all the other children dance as much as she loves being the one on stage dancing. She loves that all the "big dancers" know her and she thinks of them all as her friends simply because they know her name and will say hi to her. She is a very quiet and reserved child, but when she dances all of that goes away and she shines.
There is much potential inside this one little girl, that if properly nurtured will become amazing. It's up to me to make the right choices and set the proper limits as she grows to ensure that happens for her. And that, is a big responsibility..... and the reason this blog was started.
I always welcome comments, suggestions, and questions! Thanks,
Courtney
