Shuffle hop! step flap and...

I am not a stagemother, I will not be a stagemother, I swear I will never be a stagemother.

But my 4-year-old had her first tap class yesterday.

For those who don't know, I have a long history with dance. I started dancing seriously at 8, with tap, ballet, and jazz, but dived headlong into ballet. By 10 I was taking classes 3 times a week, by 12 6 times a week. I was in a professional dance company (The Sacramento Ballet) at the age of 14...and quit at 16. Part of the reason I quit was because of injuries, but part was also just being sick of the politics and dealing with all the stagemothers. So I know whereof I speak.

But. Child already loves to dance. She devours Angelina Ballerina, she owns a tutu and ballet shoes (courtesy of Grandma), and she puts on performances for us all the time. So last year we checked out the recitals of the 2 dance schools in town, and chose the good one (I will NOT put her in something where she wears a skimpy costume and wiggles her butt--that's the other school). This fall we enrolled her, tentatively, in the preschool tap class, which is the only class available for preschoolers. Yesterday she went, in her leotard and tights and shiny black shoes, and us parents and grandparents were nervous. Would she have FUN (most important)? Would she want to participate? Would it be stressful, or joyful? We've only committed to one month so far, so no big deal, but I only want to do activities like this if SHE wants to and is the decider, not us. I held my breath a little.

She loved it, of course. She came out grinning from ear-to-ear. She danced "I'm a Little Teapot" right along with her teacher, and got a gold star on her shoe. Because I'm not and swear to never be a stagemother, I don't care how well she actually dances or doesn't--she's in preschool, for God's sake, who cares? But I do want her to have a blast and enjoy herself, and she did. So we'll stick with this weird dance thing for a while.

Oh, and next week she wants to go in her pink tutu. It's all good with me. {s}

Medieval Word of the Day: selth: Prosperity, good fortune, happiness.