Proud of my little ballerina

Yesterday was McKenzie's Christmas recital for dance. At the very start(back in June) of class she was so, so, shy and apprehensive about being around people she didn't know and performing for them, nonetheless.

Every week I asked her if she loved dance. She always replied yes. In fact, she withdrew from gymnastics because she said she really disliked it(She has since changed her mind and is back enjoying gymnastics!) And every week she'd cry when I first left her. Her Dad and I had talk after talk about being in ballet meant that she could not  have me in there. It is a rule of the class that Mom's are not to be in class(it's pretty distracting having mommy there, right?) and we told her that if she wanted to be in class she had to go in and be independent. A few weeks in and her tears turned to smiles. She'd still act a bit shy in the beginning, but would go in without tears.

Her first recital was for Halloween. She went on stage. And was VERY unsure about the whole thing. But she went on. And she did some of the dance.

I've always told her that IF you want to be in dance(she does) that being on stage is apart of it. If she opted to not go on stage, or perform in front of people, we'd find a new activity that didn''t require these things. She insisted she wanted to learn to be brave.

Over the last few weeks I've watched her go from a bashful, thumb in mouth, little girl to a spirited, confident dancer. She ALWAYS loved dancing, but as soon as the parents would come in to be a "practice audience" for the upcoming show her thumb would go in mouth and she'd dance- slowly. Now she dances. With a smile. And I can't help but beam with pride that she didn't let her fears stop her. I feel like Duane and I did something right- letting her know that A plus B = C(Class, dancing, show!)

Last night she went on stage. No tears. No arguments. Smiles. She danced her little heart out and did the ENTIRE dance without missing a beat. I cried. I watched my normally cautious soul become confident and I cried.

My little "Dominik the Christmas Donkey"

I am so, so, proud of her. You can view her here. It's a Facebook link(though should work for everyone, I hope!). She's the last on the right and the video is craptastic. My mom taped it, too, but taped the wrong kid. Mom. Sigh.