i don't know who was prouder, us or violet.
going into the day, i was excited of course, but a little eyerolly about the whole scene, all the sequins, hair gel and zealotry. violet's group was queued at a distant #21 out of #25, and i enjoyed sneaking glances at kevin, hunkered down in his auditorium seat, and wondering if this was a defining moment for a father of a daughter -- enduring a long talent show of questionable talent. our friend egan recently attended his daughter's school talent show where over half the acts were girls singing "let it go" -- so many that the aspiring soloists were grouped into trios. when a little boy walked onstage with a piece of cardboard and started breakdancing to a beastie boys song, egan was among the many dads who leapt to their feet.
going into the day, i think violet's only real sense of stage performance came from an episode of the berenstain bears, where mama and brother dance at the bear country spring fling, so it was pretty impressive to see her walk onto the big stage in front of hundreds of people and perform her routine to cinderella's "a dream is a wish your heart makes."
i immediately teared up, and then, at the end, relief. violet was so happy, so pleased with herself. she didn't fall down or freeze up. no one threw eggs. we could see it on her face: she knew she had accomplished something.
she loves to watch the video (which i won't post, per the dance studio's privacy request), and her favorite part is the end, when the cheer goes up. "why auntie screaming?" she always asks with a grin.
speaking of auntie screaming, i wasn't going to put make-up on violet, but when i confessed that i was considering this flagrant violation of the studio's requirements, courtney screamed at me that the stage lights would WASH HER OUT!!! so i caved. i even watched some youtube videos about how to put your toddler's hair into the perfect bun and then bought specialty mini bobby pins at target. i guess it's time to hunt down a fresh pair of the juicy pants i wore circa 2004 because i'm a dance mom now.
violet still performs the routine most days, usually in the grocery aisle or anywhere she's guaranteed to sauté into people. sauté, by the way, wasn't a ballet term i was familiar with. i kept asking violet, "what are you saying? like a sauté pan?" "no! sauté!" "like the pan?" "no!" and a demonstrative leap. "sauté but not a pan?" "yes!" leap. leap. leap.
