WE GOT THE DANCE SCHEDULE!
Dorothy has
- jazz company (already knew that because that team was posted early because they had a choreographer),
- lyrical company,
- commercial company (a blend of hip hop/ jazz/ ballet-- think music videos),
- hip hop super group (the giant 40-person dance her studio does every year-- they do one for juniors and one for seniors and try to get most of the team in one or the other),
- hip hop club (her one disappointment this season because literally ALL OF HER FRIENDS made the hip hop company*. I reminded her of 3 years ago when she didn't make this dance at all and how happy she has been the last 2 seasons in the junior club (WITH HER FRIENDS, she pointed out)),
- and tap club (she was in the company for this last year, but she had to take private lessons to keep up, and the studio only has 2 tap dances this year-- junior club and teen company, so I think this placement is just fine).
Her studio is only doing large groups this year, which is a departure from how it usually goes (small groups as a sort of reward for hard work and improvement in addition to large groups), and it is the first year they are trying the commercial style-- a fun year ahead, IMO.
(I should note that I have zero dance talent and am beyond proud of Dorothy for working so hard to get so good at dance.)
I was less anxious about the teams themselves and more anxious about THE GD SCHEDULE because for jazz she has to also take ballet twice a week and a tech class, so I was unsure of how everything would fall into place. The only schedule bummer is that Tuesdays, all she has is a single tap class,** but SILVER LINING! Minnie can take an acro class at the same time!!!
Minnie wanted to take jazz and ballet and musical theater, but there was just NO WAY IN THE WORLD to make any or all or any combination of those drop offs and pick ups work with picking up Dorothy and Cooper and getting Cooper to campus, etc. SO. Acro class for Minnie so she can dance in the recital (preschool classes, which she has taken the past 2 years are combo classes, so you get 2 dances for 1 class-- when she ages up to beginning, it's one recital dance per class) AND I signed her up for gymnastics on Saturday mornings (such an advantage of diving and dance being low weekend commitment activities!).
*I think it is totally crappy that Dorothy is the only 12 year-old in her cohort to not make the HH company. BUT ALSO, not everyone can make every team, and maybe this is the most practical lesson to learn from dance life. When I was a kid, there were cuts and auditions with less concern for everyone's feelings, and I do remember not making things I really wanted (lead parts in middle school musicals even though I cannot sing or dance, the junior high poms team) and how awesome it felt to try out and make things I did want (every single play in high school, for example). So, like, disappointment is part of life, you know? She can step up and be a leader in the club this year, and it's going to be great. Also dance is a puzzle of ages as well, so if some 13 and 14 y/os are staying in the junior dance, then some 12 y/os don't fit. DO I wish it was ANOTHER 12 y/o who didn't make the cut so mine would be happier? MAYBE.
** The one class on Tuesdays thing is a pain in my ass. If we had seen a schedule BEFORE we filled out the audition survey, I would have NOT checked the box for tap auditions. But! It is such a bitter betty look to drop a team after placements and will absolutely read like Dorothy wanted to make the harder team and is doing a modified flounce. (I am team all junior teams, BTW because they compete on the SAME DAY at competitions and usually perform in the little kid recital. I would not love an extra day of competition and 2 dance recitals, you know??)
ANYWHO. NOW WE KNOW that
Jack works 2 nights after school and plans to have drama and speech the other nights plus also HS diving team starting in November and possibly HS golf team this spring.
Cooper has diving 4 nights a week and Sundays, and we have lined up a carpool thank all that is good in this world
Dorothy needs to be at the dance studio Monday-Thursday but she has a middle school classmate and a neighbor to carpool with-- just need to send some texts. She might do some rec diving on Sundays, but probably not because dance costs one million dollars.
Minnie will take an acro class on Tuesdays and developmental gymnastics on Saturdays with lots of good class make up options for weekends we need to miss. I imagine she will play kindy soccer in the spring with school friends, and I hope to get her in swim lessons in late spring so she can join the Hawks swim team next summer. (the 8 and under crew needs to be able to swim a 25 un 1 minute-- Minnie's best time from this summer is 1:02, so she's got to drop time LOL).
KINDERGARTEN ORIENTATION!!!
We are in the FINAL! Week! of! SUMMER!!
It's such a relief when schedules are finalized. Our schedules are a skip through the park compared to yours. But I had to pick a day for piano lessons before the soccer schedule was set. Piano was the priority plus it's far more expensive so I was not going to have him miss piano for soccer... But it all worked out but that means Paul has activities 4 nights/week but nothing on the weekends. I assumed one day of soccer would be on a weekend. But oh well. It will all work out. Will only has swimming lessons. Next year he'll probably do soccer as well.
ReplyDeleteThat schedule would send me to bed for a year with a giant bottle of Advil but, also, IT SOUNDS SO FUN! While I know I could not keep up with the pace, I really love how full and exciting it all sounds.
ReplyDeleteIt is TOUGH to not make the team. And it's TOUGH to help your kid navigate that sort of thing. I feel like it's harder now because in general we are a lot more careful about not hurting anyone's feelings. When I was a kid it was just more of a "fact of life" but now it really stings :(
This is giving me flashbacks to being the only one of my dance friends not to make the senior small group competition team the first year I was eligible to try out for that LOL.
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