Countdown to Afton's Dance Recital

Afton's regular dance classes finish up the year by letting the parents video and photograph the rehearsal numbers.

It is so fun for us to watch Afton's  years of practice and hard work pay off!

 The cute jazz class dances to "Hello"

It is so fun and catchy!

And the elegant ballerinas.

I love that this studio choreographs the ballet numbers to classical music!

Such a great education on traditional ballet.

We are excited to watch Afton on the big stage this weekend.

Dancing Queen

Afton has become quite a dancer the last few years.  

It is so fun to see how much she learns during each year and get to see what a beautiful dancer she is becoming.  And I get yet more chances to practice photographing some "action" shots!

Dancing Queens

The girls had their end of year dance concert in June

We were worried about whether Halle would dance on stage or not,

considering her track record...

But she did amazing!  

She smiled and danced and sang along with the songs!

Afton had three dance numbers, so she was especially busy

 It was so fun to watch her perform and see what a beautiful dancer she is becoming!

We are now anxiously awaiting the DVD so the girls can watch themselves on stage!

Halle's Dance Debut!

Halle's dance class is getting ready

for their Christmas program.

I was floored that Halle willingly danced in front of the parents

She was very distracted and kept looking at me

but there was no crying, shyness, or refusing to dance today!

Needless to say, this is the first time Halle has been captured

actually dancing in her class!

She was so proud of herself

And so was I!

Dance Recital

We love watching Afton's final dance performance

It is held at the local high school with a packed auditorium

This little lady, who used to be afraid of performing,

did an outstanding job

Afton twirled and plied, leapt and spun.

And then...

She twisted, bopped, and four-squared.

She was charming, poised, and polished.

We are so proud of her!

Ballet and Soccer

Afton had a great soccer season.

The Purple Panthers had a fun time.

Afton loved being goalie.

Plus, her dad was the coach...

She loved it!

We also had a parent preview of their dance recital.

Afton's jazz class is so cute and their moves are fun and energetic

Plus, aren't the costumes adorable?

Afton is a classic ballerina with lots of grace

I just think a class full of ballerinas is so sweet!

Afton is at a fun age where the choreography gets a little more difficult

and the girls get to do some beautiful steps.

It has been so wonderful to watch her progress each year!

Dinosaurs and Dance

It seems like all the kid "productions" happen at one time.

In the past week, Afton had a dance "parent-watch" day and Dino-Night at school.

Afton acted as our guide to teach us all about dinosaurs

Matt demonstrated a volcano

Halle showed us how she can fit inside a T-Rex mouth

and I tried to get a picture of Afton singing amidst 180 first-graders.

(she's behind that black-sleeved arm)

I also have to say that some parents go way over the top with this--

These parents brought flowers for their kid for singing dinosaur songs with the entire grade

I hope I'm not alone in thinking that a 1st grader doesn't need flowers for singing a few songs and showing us some art projects!

Plus, I was just happy we made it all in one piece~I was going it solo with 4 kids

among some insane parents making sure they got the best shot of their kid

(you can see that I did not get a good shot--those parents were in my way!)

anyway...

On to jazz class

getting ready to show what they learn all semester

I so wish I were as flexible as Afton

And that I could do the splits too!

It was fun watching them dance and show all the steps they've been working on.

Now they'll start putting it all together for their performance routine

Finally, ballet.

I just think she looks like a classic ballerina!

She got to be the leader that day

I love seeing how much she's learned since she started at age 3!

Afton's Dance Recital

Afton had her final dance recital last weekend.

She participates in both ballet and tap--

She did a great job and I am so proud of how far she's come!

When Afton first started dance, she wouldn't participate if people were watching--now she loves to do it!

She confidently walked on stage with a big smile on her face!

We love watching her do something she loves!