Dance time

Tomorrow my baby girl has her end of year Calisthenics concert, and couldn't be more excited.  This will be her third time on stage this year with her team as they perform Folk, March, Rods and Exercises. She's been doing calisthenics since she was 2, so this is her fourth year but this has been the year that she has really started to pick it up, and it has been amazing to see her improve so much.

 

Backstage (March costume) 2011, 2yrs old

March 2012 (courtesy Kellies Pix), 3yrs old

 

 

 Miss M has very low muscle tone and was seeing a physio weekly for a while there to try and strengthen her core, develop balance and improve her coordination (there was also concern that she may have Developmental Coordination Disorder, but it looks like it may have just been her very different motor planning that she used to manage her low muscle tone).  However I just couldn't keep juggling work, school, calisthenics, swimming lessons, scouts for the boy (to help his social skills development), and his OT sessions and decided that the physio had to stop.  They told me that as long as she stayed in swimming and calisthenics they'd be happy to let her go, but review her again at the end of the year.  We have yet to have that review, but I think that she will be fine given her improvement this year.

 

Exercises 2012 - Madelyn on left (Courtesy Kellies Pix)

She is really loving her dancing this year, perhaps because it's finally "clicking" for her.  So as a bit of a reward for her efforts, I have let her enter into solo competitions again.  So now I am busily gathering tulle, designing, cutting and planning her solo costume, for the end of year concert marks the start of solo season. 

 

 

 While I sew her calisthenics costumes for the team items (there were 4 this year), they are always designed and precut for me, and I just have to work out how to put them together  - I get a photo, and the cut pieces with no labels or instructions, so it can be a bit frustrating at times.  But come solo time, I get to design the costume myself, based on the music her coach selects.  Tonight I am having fun with hot pink, black and polka dots to create a 50's rock'n'roll style costume.  Miss M is so excited she gets to wear pink (last year she was a bright yellow bigbird)!

 

Practicing her solo - 2013, 4yrs old