Dance Recital 2016

This year the Carol Chesley Studio of Dance held their recital on Sunday the 5th of June. It was an especially crazy weekend, with Emma's graduation on Friday, and a community yard sale on Saturday during the dress rehearsal. Sunday after Mass, Em was to have her piano recital during the dance recital and we just couldn't make it work so Emma skipped her piano recital. Over Emma's many years of piano, her recital usually fell on the same weekend as encampment so I think she only went to one performance and also a few years she made it to the rehearsals only. It is hard to be forced to choose.

The dance recital this year was again full of cousins and local friends, so there was a lot of interest in each of the numbers. This years theme was "And the Magic goes on" and was full of Disney references. Bridget and Sarah's ballet class had a costume that looked like Mary Poppins and the dance was reflective of her carpet bag. I was so impressed with Bridget's class. They knew their dance and did beautifully. It made me a little teary to see her so competent and mature. I was really proud of her, and the rest of the recital didn't disappoint.

Megan's first dance was from her Contemporary class and they were Merida's Bow. Both Sophia and Sarah were also in this class. They had soft flowy costumes in blue and green and the dance was choreographed with lovely sweeping movements. Megan shines in this type of dance. She has a great fluidity to her arms, and makes beautiful shapes.

In the 3rd act Bridget's tap class put on their pirate outfits and did a number as Captain Hook's hook. this dance was a lot of fun and included a stylized fight sequence where Bridget and Sarah got to fight. The pirate hats were a little distracting as some of them went askew but the girls all stayed focused and nailed their performance.

Right after the pirates came Megan's ballet number. They did the Spindle from Sleeping Beauty and were costumed in layers of gold tulle. Her ballet class is a big one and they have has progressed a lot over the years and performed beautifully. At this point Johanna was done with being an audience member, so I headed to the back with her awaiting the big ballet finale.

Hanna burned off some energy and then we made it back to our seats in time for Megan's first year in the Dance Corp. She worked really hard all year to learn and practise en pointe. At the dress rehearsal the day before she looked like a professional, sitting on the floor messaging her feet after a few hours of repeated dances in her toe shoes. I watched her as she rubbed her feet and retied her ribbons around her ankles and I had a moment where I felt like I was seeing a dream reached but at the same time getting a taste of the future.

The Dance Corp ballet finale had a number of groups progressing in skill level. They were themed as Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust, with the Senior members as fairies. Megan hit her marks with grace and managed to stay en pointe in a way that looked effortless but I know was not. The choreography was pleasing and they managed to get all of them on stage weaving in and out of each other and pirouetting in unison. It was a grand finale and I am so proud of Megan and Bridget for their hard work and concentration.