By: Erin
Both of my daughters started taking dance classes as soon as they were old enough, which was when they were around 3 years old. At the time, dance was pretty much the only organized sport that they could be involved in, and I thought it looked like something they would enjoy. I was not prepared for just how much they would end up falling in love with dance and how much of a part of our lives it would become!
My oldest daughter decided a couple of years ago that she wanted to try out for the All-Star Dance Team at the studio where she attended class. My husband and I decided that if she wanted to give it a try, we would let her. She tried out that summer and made the team.
When it came to All-Star Dance, I honestly had no idea what to expect. If I am completely honest, I had a lot of misconceptions about dance and cheer. When I walked into her first competition, I saw nothing but lots of girls with short skirts and big hair bows (and big hair), and I turned to my mom and said, "What am I doing here? This is like my own personal hell!"
Not much changed as we sat in the hallway of the convention center getting my daughter ready. I just knew that I couldn't do her hair (thank goodness for other awesome dance moms who always come to my rescue), and I couldn't believe the haze of hairspray that hung in the air as girls got ready all around us! I had never seen so much glitter in my life! I was totally out of my comfort zone, but I could tell that my daughter was in her element already.
When she left to go warm up with her team, my mom and I went into the arena to watch some of the other teams dance. This is when my view of dancers changed tremendously! I never considered dance or cheer a sport, to be honest. However, as I sat in the audience and watched girls and boys of all ages step on that stage and wow the audience with their moves, my opinions quickly changed. I always considered myself to be an athlete, but after watching these young people, I knew for a fact that they were far more athletic and talented than me. Add in the fact that they had to have nerves of steel to get up in front of an audience and judges, and I knew then that these were indeed athletes who deserved our respect and admiration!
When I watched my daughter dance for the first time on the big stage, she amazed me! She came to life on that stage like nothing I had seen before, and I think I knew, from that first time, that dance was going to be "her thing."
This year, my youngest daughter decided she wanted to follow in her sister's footsteps and try out for the All-Star team also. I wasn't sure if she was ready, but she ended up making the team and has done great during her first season. My oldest also did her first solo routine this year, and she has wowed all of us with her awesome courage and personality on stage!
My husband and I often get asked why we let our daughters dance when it takes so much time and money. I've been thinking a lot about this lately, and I wanted to share some of the reasons why we have decided that our daughters will be allowed to be involved with dance for as long as they want:
- Confidence: I have watched as my daughters' confidence grows each time they step onto the stage, perform in a parade, or take the floor at a ballgame. I am always amazed by their lack of nerves and fear as they take center stage.
- Experiences: Our family has had so many awesome experiences and made so many great memories thanks to dance. My oldest daughter has now been on two teams that have qualified for The Dance Summit in Orlando, Florida at Disney World. She got to dance at St. Louis last year, which was a city that the girls and I had never been to. They have also danced at Indianapolis Pacers games, Cincinnati Reds games, and their first competition this year was at Lucas Oil Stadium. These are all experiences that they would not have had if not for dance.
- Friendships and Role Models: The girls have formed lasting friendships with teammates, and they have great role models to look up to in the girls on the older teams.
- Humility: My girls have learned how to win and lose with grace. I think this is such an important trait to have, and I am glad they are learning this at a young age.
- Discipline: They have to go to practice and show up and do their best even when they sometimes don't feel like it or might have something else going on that they would rather be doing. Do they sometimes miss out on other fun stuff? Yes, but they are learning what it means to be committed to something and to not let their team down.
For these reasons, and many more, I am so glad that my daughters have chosen to dance. And...someday, I will be able to fix their hair!!
