Shall We Dance?

It took me a while to decide to change Hannah from music to dance. She loved music but the fingering on the keyboard was just so hard for her to master and with Kit on the book ahead I could see how much harder the program got in a short space of time - and so we moved her. Well she LOVES dance. She looks forward to it like she does Rainbow CLub. I think she has her first 'crush' - on her dance instructor - a lovley young man who also knows Auslan. I don't hold out great hopes for a professional dance career - in fact I have had a couple of nightmares about the upcoming concert - I can see the other girls (most of whom are precocious, bright little things with blonde hair of course - although why they must have blonde hair I don't know!) all doing what they do - being graceful and quick in their movements, looking beautiful and there in the corner I see her - a little girl looking lost - perhaps she is curled up in a ball on the ground refusing to look around at the audience, maybe she stands somewehre off centre stage, soft red hair falling down in her face, still like a statue... or maybe she will do as I hope - shine. With her gorgeous smile and her whole body enthusiasm throw herself inelegantly around the stage, follwoing the lead of the other girls and smiling - with maybe just a wee moment where she sends a special smile to her adoring family...
Ah but what happens as with many things in life - something that I have to wait and see. She will do whatever she will do - and we will make sure that whatever happens she feels good about it. That she feels special and loved and capable - just the way she is.
Another more practical issue is changing her costumes - we had a practice on the weekend and she will definitely need some help - so somehow I will have to duck backstage between her numbers to help out - and I just know that I will be graceless moving past the rows of audience members, pushing thorugh backstage, looking for my daughter and then juggling, clothes, glasses, shoes...
Here are some pics of the home costume practice!