Ballet Mom
My life is totally dominated by ballet. Â Ballet auditions, ballet rehearsals, ballet clothes, ballet buns. Â Not to mention regular ballet classes.
August started so peacefully, in spite of the fact that Pumpkin Girl moved up a level in ballet and so is now up to 3 classes a week of an hour and half each. Â Then she auditioned for and was offered a spot in her school’s pre-professional company. Â That came with a requirement to take one other dance class, plus company meetings and rehearsals. Â She chose her additional class to be one that happens immediately before company rehearsals, so we drop her off on Saturday after lunch and pick her up sometime around dinner. Â It depends on what they are rehearsing.
Of course, there were additional clothing items needed for being in the company, including another black leo, another uniform leo and a company warm-up suit. Â The company warm-ups are optional. Â Well, to the studio they are, but not to the dancers! Â How can you possibly make the company and not buy the warm-ups? We smiled understandingly and wrote the check.
Her place in the company guaranteed her a role in their Nutcracker, taking place in December. Â She was happy to be given a party girl role. Â I quaked in fear of the natural-hair boingy curls for her straight, straight hair.
Then she auditioned for and was given a role in the Nutcracker that is performed with our city’s philharmonic orchestra and a professional ballet company from out of town. She was also given a party girl role. Â More boingy curls! She was slightly disappointed because she wanted to be a baker. Â Bakers get to bounce on a mini trampoline disguised as a cake, no curls needed.
Then last week she was given an additional role in the company Nutcracker as a soldier. Â The trick here is that she will perform the party girl role and the soldier role on the same day, in different shows. Â They require different hair. Â If – and I PRAY this happens – she is a party girl in the first show, then in between shows I can wet down the curls and slick them back into a simple bun that will tuck under her soldier hat. Â If it goes the other way, soldier in the first show, party girl in the second, I will have to curl her hair, by hand!!! with a curling iron. Â Woe!
She’s putting 12 hours in the studio this week. Â She is dancer, hear her roar.
And me? Â I put her hair in a bun, decipher the rehearsal schedules, write the checks, drive the car. Â I don’t mind, I’m get to be the proud ballet mom.
My daughter used fake curls that attached with..something. Maybe they were made onto a comb? They were the same color as her hair. You couldn’t tell that she had a perfect ballet bun under there until the party scene was over and she removed the curls for the rest of the show. (Snowflake? Flower? I forget.) Her dance teacher told her where to get them.
I’m in the trenches with you girl. Only I think you have a much better attitude than I do. 😉
The girls at our studio use fake curls that attach to buns. I ordered my oldest daughter’s from wigsunlimited.com; it was the Elka under the dance team hair pieces. Works great and comes off very easily.
The company will match the hair if you send in a hair sample.
KC recently posted..7 Quick Takes ~ September 30, 2011
…no one tells ya before your child makes company how many more hours a week it will be… for us, my little girl spends 5 hours in technique courses, 1 hour in company(beginning rehearsals already for Nutcracker with three roles – party girl, mouse and Chinese Dancer,) 1 hour in strengthening, one hour in lyrical, one hour in modern, one hour in acro, and the ensemble rehearsals for Nutcracker will make for at least 4 more hours a week. This is our first year in company, and I can see that her being in company is going to be even harder on my wallet than I previously imagined… she actually has talent and more drive and determination than I had as a kid, so we support it, but eeek
It is a HUGE commitment, isn’t it? And a sacrifice for the whole family…but worth it. A dance career, professional or not, is so fleeting.