Dancing Days
The sunny season is here and it’s gathering pace. We finalized the booking of our annual trip to Europe a few days ago; a little later than usual as we leave in just over a month. This year the travel arrangements seem to have taken on a life of their own and I’m a little concerned that I won’t remember to be in the right place at the correct time with the right child!
As summer and her breezes of freedom beckon, school and semester life here tumble over one another in their haste to reach the finish line. This coming week will see my husband and I attend not one but two graduations and accompanying celebrations. While I’m not sure the preschoolers will quite grasp the significance of their ceremony, the end of eighth grade seems a significant milestone as it really marks the beginning of one’s high school career here in America.
This afternoon we attended our daughter’s end of year ballet recital. It was my husband’s first foray into the world of costumes, hairspray and performances. Not for him the dimly lit childhood memories of similar occasions where I danced away on a stage in the north of England, never dreaming that one day I would be my daughter’s chaperone at a similar event in Southern California.
The show was as professionally executed as one would expect from a Los Angeles performing arts school. Our daughter danced in the unspeakably cute, youngest category where the audience still clap and cheer supportively over charmingly unforced errors and fumbles. Watching the older performers we were impressed by the creative talent and athleticism on display. I have always had a soft spot for dance and today was no exception. It was particularly inspiring to see the progression through the years; as this school offers classical and modern dance there were some strikingly imaginative group and solo performances by the teen dancers. I’m sure that we’ll attend many more events like these while time passes by here in the city of flowers and sunshine, with our children moving ever faster down the road of their future as it opens up before them.
