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Ballet, Tap, and Tumbling... Oh my!

Want to witness one of the most adorable thing on the planet? Attend a preschooler dance class. Seriously. It was fabulous.


This past week, Kenzie attended her first ever dance class. Steven and I have talked about enrolling Kenzie in dance class for quite some time but we wanted to wait until we thought she was old enough and we thought she was ready to participate in one. We thought about it a few months ago but held off for a bit longer and finally decided to bite the bullet a couple of weeks ago. Our city actually offers dance classes through different seasons that culminate in participating in various parades in the city. We talked about that, but decided that we wanted to find a place that had a recital so that not only us, but also grandparents, could attend and see her hard work pay off.

For years we have driven by a studio around the corner from us and never paid too much attention, but when we decided to try to find a class, they were the first place that came to my mind. So, I contacted the studio and found out that they have a 3-5 year old pre-k class. Perfect! We set up a trial class for Kenzie this past Monday as they let the kids try out a class before you register and enroll in classes.

After I contacted the studio and Steven and I decided to go forward with the trial class, I tried to talk to Kenzie about it. I was heartbroken when she responded that she didn't want to do dance class. After talking to her about it some more, I realized it was because she thought she couldn't dance and she only danced at home. I explained that it is a class and, like school, she would learn to dance. We talked about how all the kids in the class were learning and that she could also learn to dance. I also showed her a leotard that we had at home that was actually a hand me down from a friend when Kenzie was born that had the most adorable little tutu attached to it. (If anything can win over this kid... it's a good tutu.) I explained that she would get to wear a tutu and get special dancing shoes. Then, I pulled up some videos of our family and friend's kids on Facebook in various dance classes to show her. Thank goodness for the Internet! She was then so excited! Score! We were set.

For her trial class they told us she could just wear comfy clothes and would be able to borrow shoes so that we would not have to purchase anything for the first class in case she wasn't into it. Since we already owned the leo and tights, we put her in those and the results were, by far, more adorable than I would have ever imagined. After adding a bow to her hair, she was ready.

We luck out that the class is at 5:45 on Mondays. Okay, it actually throws a wrench into our normal dinner routine but we will figure that out. The plus is that Steven can attend as long as he isn't in Cocoa or working late. He met us at the studio and we went inside to find the nicest ladies behind the desk. They fitted Kenzie with a pair of loaner ballet shoes. We learned that the day's class would have ballet and tumbling. I believe (though we haven't done it yet) that they will alternate ballet and tumbling one Monday and then ballet and tap the next. They definitely seem to focus on ballet, but they expose them to other styles, as well.

Since we were there a bit early, they let us sit in on another class of older girls while we waited for Kenzie's to begin. Each studio has a viewing area with bleacher like seats behind windows. Apparently, in the studio itself, there is a mirror so we can see them, but they can only see themselves. We watched the big girls dance and Kenzie was getting more and more excited. Finally, it was time for Kenzie's class!

As is customary for Kenzie (and we still have no idea where she gets this), she went right into the class without missing a beat. The class has about 7-8 other kids and one little girl was also doing her first trial class. The class does span a large age group so some of the kids were more advanced than others, but the teacher and her assistant were awesome and patient. Kenzie was so intense during most of the class but we could randomly see her smiling and getting excited. Her intensity was because she was watching and trying to replicate what was being done. She sticks her tongue out of her mouth when she is thinking and I saw that tongue creep out on more than one occasion.


The class started with some warm up type things and then the girls went to the barre to practice some ballet moves. Kenzie tried really hard. Her feet need some work (haha), but she tried so hard and we were so proud.

After that, they rehearsed what is going to be their recital dance. It is set to A Whole New World and Kenzie did awesome.


Then, they practiced some tumbling and Kenzie did remarkably well. She is exposed to a bit of this type of thing through school because they have a weekly class called Gym Buddies and she said they do things like this sometimes.


At the end, the girls got a sticker. At that point, Kenzie was sold! Tutus and stickers. They know how to win over our little girl's heart.

We asked her if she wanted to go back and it was a resounding "YES!" so we signed her up before leaving. She is officially a dancer. Hehe. We will buy her shoes next week (they were ordering ballet and tap in her size that day) and are on a search for a new leo so she has more than one (we found one she loved, but the Target didn't have her size so we have to try another Target.) We will have class once a week until the recital in June. There is a summer schedule, I think, so we will determine if we want to do that as well or want to hold off until fall before returning. She does swimming in the summer so we just have to decide how much we want to give her. She will not have school though, so we will see.

Kenzie keeps asking me this week if we can do back to dance class "after school", "at night", "before dinner", etc. I explained it is only once a week, but the kid wants more. Anytime we Facetime someone, we have to show them some of the things she learned. I am so glad she had a good time and we are looking forward to this new experience in her life.

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