I’d only been to Wisner a handful of times before we signed Kindrey up for dance lessons at Studio B. I wasn’t even sure how to get there. Yes, I needed my Google Maps the first time I went to the studio to get Kindrey fitted for shoes. I’m directionally challenged, and an oblivious passenger.
Highway 51, that mysterious road to Wisner, has recently been repaved with purdy asphalt. The road construction did make for an interesting drive for a few weeks in the fall – “Kindrey, be ready to unbuckle and run to the door to get your dance shoes on. I think we’ll make it just in the nick of time!” But once the weather was too cold for paving, it was smooooth sailing. The speed limit had been bumped up to 65, and it was such an easy drive! I’ll admit, the winter drives were dark….but we passed the time listening to “Mommy’s favorite songs” – "The Lighthouse" and "When You Come Back Down" by Nickel Creek. On the way home tonight, we just listened to whatever jazzy songs were playing on 90.3 because it looked like spring again. The sky was blue, and the sun shone brightly on the large moon that seemed to guide us to the 8 Mile Corner. Precious moments in the car with the girlies.
So, yah. it’s Kindrey’s first year of dance. She seems to like it, and has made some new adorable little dance friends. But we haven’t had the recital yet. We’ll see how that goes. Fingers crossed that she goes out on stage!
I always wanted to be in dance. Punky Brewster made sure tap dancing was a main objective. I wasn’t able to take any classes, so instead, I put on my dress shoes and “tapped” my heart out in the kitchen. How old was I? 4? 5?
Later, that kitchen dance experience helped me play a tap-dancing spy in one of the high school musicals. I didn’t have tap shoes, so I stuck upholstery tacks in the bottom of black Mary Janes, along with homemade cardboard insoles to protect the bottoms of my feet from the tacks! Oh. My. Word. I can still feel the tacks poking through the cardboard. The sacrifices a dancer makes!
But my real dance experience started before the torture shoes. At the end of 6th grade, I got to try out for the drill team. 7th grade, here I come! So…uh… we had SO many practices in the “old lunch room” all to learn ONE PART of a dance for tryouts. “Jump”. Who remembers “Jump”?? How many stinkin’ times did we perform that dance???….We even took it to Lincoln when the Boys’ Basketball team made it to State. Thank goodness we got better than “Jump”.
It took about one full year for me to become more confident in my dancing ability. I was SO hooked. It was the one form of physical exercise I could breathe through. I could just go and go and go. I danced until I graduated. Even the year I was a cheerleader instead of a dancer, we incorporated dancing. My sophomore year, I took Swing Dance Lessons at the Emporium in Homer - thanks, Aunt Janet! My freshman year of college, I took a dance class to meet my Physical Education requirement. If I could, I would take an adult dance class right now. Salsa?Dance nerd.
So, I obviously love dance, and I wish that it had worked with our schedule to get both girls into dance earlier because, I guess, I want them to love it as much as I do, but life just wouldn’t permit it until this last year.
Kamryn did take gymnastics, but it just didn’t stick with her. So I was happy that she wanted to audition for the Elementary Honor Choir. I was actually QUITE shocked. She’s ridiculously shy…but she auditioned, and the instructor found a spot for her. It’s not “dance,” but there is some choreography involved, and she obviously has to perform in front of people. It’s so great for her. She is so much braver than I give her credit for. She is even starting to show us her “moves” at home…well, she thinks we’re not looking, but we see, and it’s adorable.
Kindrey is a performer at heart, but is still surprisingly shy. I hope being in dance will give her an outlet to express herself and build her confidence, too. If you could have seen her dancing and singing in the car on the way home tonight, you’d understand the potential we see in her.
Dance - it’s a time commitment, and a slight financial commitment, but knowing how much dance meant to me, I know it will be worth it. And that drive to Wisner….well, we’ll make that trip a few more times over the years to come.
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