Maddie's End of the Year Dance Showcase

Tonight was Maddie's end of the year dance showcase for school. I was a little leery.. 16 dances in 1 hour. no way. In my experience, dance recitals last forever!

 

But nope, it was in and out in an hour and the 150 girls in the showcase did AWESOME! I was so proud to have a child in SISD dance class. I am very aware that we are super lucky to have dance every day for FREE!! Yippee..

 

This year has been phenomenal for Maddie. I was so scared about Junior High and the locker room and team sports. I remember very, very clearly how HORRIBLE it was for me. I didn't want my daughter to face that! How thankful I am that Maddie doesn't have these experiences! She has dance!! She gets her PE credit, has learned dance technique and has gained so much flexibility. I truly consider dance to be a gift!

 

Here are a few pictures from tonight. The pictures aren't great. They are taken in the gym.

 

 

 Look at this real smile!

I don't know that you can get the joy that Maddie radiated from the pictures. She was having FUN and you could tell it. She was also REALLY GOOD!! It was the first time that I saw her participate in a school activity that was physical where she was on-level or better than her peers! That was really big for our family. Tears! As my dad said, you could see that she was enjoying herself and that she didn't seem in pain! Given that Maddie suffers from joint pain almost on a daily basis, this was tear worthy!

Tonight's showcase pretty much sums up Maddie's 7th grade year. There have been struggles and hard work, but she has excelled, found new strength and her joy has been evident to all who see her!

Little Girls Wild About Dance!

Last week Lexi had Sting Camp. This is afterschool dance for a week with the drill team at the high school. She loved it!!

 

On Friday evening, they had a short performance.

 

Lexi's group was adorable.  There is just something about 2nd graders!! They aren't babies anymore, but they haven't made it to the gangly stage yet either. They are just cute!!



I can't remember the name of the song that they danced to, but they were cute and Lexi did a good job. She even remembered to smile sometimes! 

Here is Lexi with Shelby after the performance. I love knowing the girls that come into contact with my daughters at high school events!! Shelby is an awesome girl and I'd be thrilled if Lexi grew up to be an accomplished dancer and artist like Shelby!

Junior High Dancer

Maddie is taking dance this year. This is offered beginning in 7th grade in our school district as an alternative to sports or straight p.e.  We had hoped that she would be able to do this, but were not sure since she spent the last couple of months of 6th grade completely removed from p.e. class. To be ready for dance, Maddie spent all summer long taking physical therapy twice a week in order to be able to participate.

 

She is doing GREAT!

 

Last week, she was picked to be in the dance at the pep rally!! This was HUGE!

 

So, here is Maddie and the other girls dancing. Maddie is the one on the right with the long sleeve white shirt.

 

Go Maddie!