Like electricity…

Today was the day of “the show” that the girls have been rehearsing for since before Christmas. It was held here which at a rough count is something like an 800 seat auditorium (and it was sold out for 3 back to back shows today) and there was considerable excitement about it all. Maddy was excited, Amelie was nervous – and i think Fran was in denial for most of the day 🙂 – their show was at 4pm, so they had quite a wait through the day.

I’ve not seen a show by this dance school before; Fran was in one at the other theatre with her previous school which was okay, but this one was really professional; i was very impressed (and having grown up doing youth theatre as an actor, director and producer i’m really picky and easily offended!) They’d gone to town on the costumes, it was well rehearsed, not too loud or showy and very slick. Considering they didn’t have ANY rehearsal time in the actual theatre, they did very well, all of them from the tiniest 3 year old baby candles, to the adults and nearly adults that took part too. Some of the kids have got real talent and it was great to see the staff taking part too (in senior dance routines to pad out the numbers, not hogging the limelight!) They did a real company show; even Josie was transfixed for most of it.

Fran and Maddy were in a tap routine for the first half, which was a version of Beauty and the Beast – they were plates 😆 They looked terrified actually, but held it together and they swapped classes (and therefore routines) at Xmas so i thought they did well to manage. I’ve got used to thinking of them as quite big, so it was funny to see them as utter tinies on the stage, doing the simpler routines – i forget they are still little. I was so surprised by how small they were, i didn’t pick them out to start with! Amelie’s ballet class, which is really for 6 year olds so she is very young for it, were teacups and she did great, remembered it all and looked very awed but kept going. She told me afterwards she knew she was supposed to smile but she just couldn’t make her mouth do it!

She watched the second half with us, which was a montage of show hits; Fran and Maddy were right at the end in the scene from the Billy Elliot, at the end where they ask him why he likes to dance. They were all dressed in beautiful tutus and tights, with their hair properly up. I promptly howled at the sight of them 🙄 Fran made a tiny mistake and got over it and i think i actually stopped breathing when i saw Maddy right at the front of her line, with no one to watch and copy but she was perfect. She looked so tiny and so intense – i was even more shocked by how graceful Fran has become recently, she just looked like a dancer 😯 i think we might investigate getting her an extra dance lesson a week perhaps and see if it helps her move on. Maddy’s thing is definitely musical theatre, but it looks to me like Fran would benefit from a bit more ballet perhaps, she’s quite good 🙂

Ah well, over now, back to the ruck of exams (i have no idea what exams they are even on, i try not to be pushy stage mummy!) – glad they enjoyed it though and good to see they are at a school with a really professional edge to it.

Well done Saldance.