Dance Class

One of the wonderful things about Juliet is that she is introducing me to all kinds of new experiences that parents of little girls usually have.  So today I got to go to dance class.  Of course some little boys go to dance class (otherwise where would we get male dancers?) but Matthew didn't, so I'd never experienced dance class before today.  And now that I think about it that's not true because as a little girl I attended dance class.  Which obviously made a big impression on me.

Colleen and I picked the girls up after school today, and when Juliet saw me she ran to me, jumped in  my arms and gave me a great big hug.  This alone made my day!  We then walked to the dance school, and got there early enough for the girls to eat their gouter (afternoon snack) and change their clothes.  All the girls in the class wear some variation of soft dusty rose-colored tights, ballet slippers, tutu and light sweater.  The girls themselves are various shapes and sizes but with the same color clothing they look like a dance troupe, albeit a very tiny, giggly one.

I can't go into the dance studio because the dancers are a dozen or so four- and five-year olds who are intensely self-conscious; so I peek surreptitiously through an open window area and catch some of Juliet's action.  She is very intent and listens to the teacher carefully.  Not surprisingly, being the youngest in the class, she rushes to be next to the teacher whenever they all join hands to form a circle.  With a joyful look she skips around the room; with studious concentration she forms a plie' and imitates the position of the teacher's hands, just so.

It's a forty-five minute class, and really quite a bit of exercise for four-year-olds.  There is a lot of stretching, bending and positioning of feet and arms.  During the last part of the class the girls dance, one at a time, to music.  Juliet is pure concentration and beams at the teacher's praise.  Of course I am picturing her as the prima ballerina at the Opera, whereas she may abandon dance class for the soccer team in a few years.  Whatever Juliet does, she does full tilt; she'll have lots of opportunities for sports, arts, recreation and education of all kinds, and will throw herself into them with abandon, I'm sure.  But then I love her so much I might not be a reliable judge...