Senior Dance Recitals.

Kendall's senior dance recitals were awesome.  It was literally two solid days of rehearsals, prep and four recitals.  Also, it was the culmination of four months of hard work for me.  Kendall had talked me into taking adult hip hop with her.  My body was definitely sore from moving ways it should no longer move, but it was all worth it.  

There was six of us total.  Me, Kendall, Hayley (one of the studio coaches and the Mountain View dance team coach, parents of a little dancer and a BSU track coach). We were in for it!

When we went out there to perform, it was adrenaline all the way.  The entire auditorium was screaming (mostly for Hayley, I am sure), and because they were just happy they were not one of the adults up there.  The scary part was that the screaming was so loud, we could not hear the music.  Like true professionals (ha!), we put all that aside and went all in!  The dance was a company dance a few years ago, so several of the girls were dancing along with us in the wings.  It was terrifying, but mostly fun.  We did it!  I thank Kendall for challenging me this way, especially now that it is over!  When I say we brought the house down...we most certainly did.

The show opener was super fun and was to Love Shack.  The senior dancers were featured.  It was so fun to watch Kendall shine.

Each of the seniors performed their solo at one of the shows.  The other seniors would sit in the wings and watch with emotion, as their peer performed for one last time.

I can confirm that there was not a dry eye in my row, as Kendall went out to hear from her coaches and perform her solo for the final time.

For the ballet classes, the instructors also made a huge effort to give each of the seniors a feature part.  I cannot believe how much Kendall has grown as both a dancer and a performer in just a few short years.

The theme of this year's recital was 'ARCHIVES'.  Each of the recreational classes re-did one of the competition dances from previous years.  The student got to pick most of the dances.  One of the all time favorites was 'Blood in the Cut'.  I remember it so well, as it was bold and intense.  I was so  happy to see that Kendall performed in this one.  

The dancers were so excited about re-creating some of the older dances, that they got special permission to hold open practices for three additional dances.  It was astonishing that they can learn such hard choreography in such a short period of time.  After all, it took me four months to learn one hip hop dance:).

'Stole the Show' was the last dance for each of the shows.  During one of the performances, Kendall was so 'in the moment' that I am pretty sure she forgot to throw the last of the flowers.  She might call me a liar though.

...and that is a wrap!

I cannot even begin to describe the growth in this young lady.  She truly gave it her all and for that I am most proud!  I am particularly thankful for the coaches that invested their time and pushed her beyond her wildest expectations.