Our second show is over! I think I've been smiling all week, reliving the day and the outstanding performances from our dancers.
Every single child did themselves so proud. The hard work in the run up to Saturday absolutely paid off; the dancing was beautiful with confident performances all round.
I truly believe that our show being in aid of charity helped give us that extra motivation and encouragement as the show approached. This year, our show was in aid of Simpsons Special Care Babies (check out our previous blog post). Just before the show started, we reminded ourselves why we were doing this and I could almost feel the determination to do their absolute best coming out of our dancers.
I'm especially proud of how the children conducted themselves throughout the day. Despite it being an extremely exciting, busy (and hot!) day, they were polite, kind, respectful and supportive of each other. For me this is just as important, if not more so, than the dancing itself.
At one point during the show, I noticed some of our primary-age dancers miming the actions from the front for our pre-school dancers with huge smiles on their faces! I hadn't asked them to do this, so seeing them taking it upon themselves to encourage the little ones made me particularly proud.
In classes, I strive to create an environment which is free of competition and comparison. On Saturday the children really genuinely wanted each other to do well, which was just lovely to see.
Every single child stepped onto the stage on Saturday, even those who experienced anxiety or fear during the rehearsal. Some of our dancers have only been attending classes for a few months, and when I look back at where they started the growth in their confidence in phenomenal.
Post-show in classes, I've loved hearing many of the children say they're proud of themselves. They put so much into the preparation that they really deserve that amazing feeling of achievement. I know many of them have told their school teachers about the show and some even took their certificates into assembly! Their involvement in this charity effort is something they're taking great pride in, which I'm so pleased to see.
I've also been inundated with lovely message from the children's families/ audience members. The recurring message is that every child looked happy and confident. I am so very proud of our dance family.
Classes are now continuing as normal, but we're not forgetting about the show just yet... look out for the amount reveal very soon!! 👀
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