This ballet stuff can be stressful. My perfectionist nature appreciates the excellence it demands, but it can also really make you really worry about getting everything "just so".
Emma's annual performance is coming up next month, and yesterday was their dress rehearsal in class. I was sent an e-mail that contained a full page of instructions for what they should wear down to the exact color of tights. There was a separate page on "how to create a classical ballet bun", which included pictures, and ten bullet points. Makeup is also streamlined, and I was sent a picture of what it should look like, along with the required colors, etc.
Emma's hair is beautiful, and she has A LOT of it. It's extremely thick, coarse, curly, AND...short. Not really the best hairstyle to have when trying to make the "perfect ballet bun", as I discovered. I cannot tell you how much gel I used in that girl's hair to get it stay down, and about 5 million bobby pins on top of it, but I conquered every wisp and stray hair that dared move out of place. Hey--the list said, "no wisps", and I couldn't settle for less. After her hair was done, we moved on to the makeup, and with my laptop on the counter, I followed the picture exactly.
By the end of all this, I was a sweaty mess, but she looked beautiful, and very much like a ballerina.
With bright red lips.
Rehearsal was successful, and afterward all the moms were able to come in and take pictures. Emma could not contain her excitement over her costume, which includes a tiara and long silk gloves.
Her class just finished their exams, which is where they go in before judges and are tested on their form, technique, expression, and theory. They can only move on to the next level if they pass, so it's a pretty big deal. Emma was too young this year to take them, but next spring she will. Does that faze her? No. She LOVES ballet, and it very much matches her nature and personality. I love that the technique and discipline it
teaches and required is unparalleled, and it's beauty, breathtaking. Even at such a
young age, they are quite the sight--their little toes pointed, backs
stretched, and arms curved. I know she's only just turned 7, and not far down the road, but even this small glimpse has given me a whole new appreciation for this art that I have always admired and loved to watch.
She told me that she wants to "dance her whole life", and then "be a
dance teacher".
I hope she does.
I think she better grow her hair out if so.
I think she better grow her hair out if so.
