Piper's First Dance Recital

Piper asked to sign up for dance last year, so in the fall, she started a combo tap and ballet class every Saturday morning. This past weekend was her big recital. The events started on Friday night with the dress rehearsal.

I couldn't get over how gorgeous Piper looked. However, let's just say that I'm not sure that I'm meant to be a dance mom. We'd been practicing her hair bun for the past 6 months, and I still needed about a zillion bobby pins to secure it.

I was really impressed by how organized the whole thing was. When I dropped Piper off in the dressing room each dancer had a chair with their name on it, and the younger girls all had an older girl assigned to watch over them, touch up their make-up, make sure they went to the bathroom, etc. It was really great.

During the rehearsal, they wore these black gloves, but I think they decided the gloves were too distracting for the girls for the show. Thegirls basically spent their entire rehearsal fidgeting, staring like a deer-in-headlights at the audience, and playing with their gloves. (Mothers of the Year alert: The other class moms and I were cracking up at how bad the girls were on stage--it was so bad that it was cute.)

Sunday (Father's Day) was the big show. Deke stayed home with the babysitter, while the rest of us went to the Masonic Temple, including Eric's parents.

Piper again looked beautiful. 

I was so impressed with the girls. On show night, they were awesome. I snuck this picture during the performance, even though taking pictures isn't allowed.

They also don't allow parents to video tape either to help prevent dancer distraction, but the school will be posting a video at some point, and I'll link it here. It was an adorable dance. And, I was so proud of Piper for getting up on stage. At the end of the show, all the girls came out holding hands to bow. That was really sweet too.

Afterward, Piper received flowers from all of us, which she loved (although not sure what's up with her lipstick in this picture).

And then we went out for the traditional post-show ice cream. Zinga was no Putnam Pantry or Friendly's but was still fun.

And, that was it. Overall, I'm not really sure that Piper loved dance, but she did love wearing the beautiful costume, and I was so proud of her for getting on stage. Hard to believe my daughter is old enough for these things. Wasn't she just a baby learning to walk like yesterday!?!