Tiny dancers

One of the most wonderful parts of being a mother of girls is taking them to dance class. I have dreamt about that since my children were born, and even before, when I saw those little squiggles on the camera in my belly. It is one of the many joys of being a mom. Watching them swirl around in tutus, wearing beautiful costumes, and most of all, watching their smiling faces. It's not the music or the movement, necessarily, it is the unabashed joy you feel-like you don't care if anyone is watching, and the thrill that they are. You remember as a dancer what it felt like to move as a synchronized group. I remember that feeling well, and moving to the beautiful music together, I can see that my children feeling as well. Babies begin dancing almost immediately, and you know that you know that it is destined to continue throughout their life. I love that sense of connection with music and beauty.
So it was today, as the mom of two little ones, dressed as princesses and fairies, that I have that joy again. I got to watch them at dance camp "performing" to the music from the movie Frozen. Just joy on their faces. They were nervous, of course. At the end they asked the teacher if they could do one of the silly songs that they loved, the kind of toddler tune that is about fruit. They had no fear or embarrassment with all the cameras, just smiles.
 And after it's over, it is a little bit of a letdown. They don't know quite what to say, they don't want it to be over. The questions of this generation begin. What will you do with that? Will you do this again? Do you want to dance here? What kind of dance? How much? How often? Our poor children. They don't just get to that do casual dance or activity anymore, now it is a week of gymnastics every day with pressure to excel and compete. It's a struggle to maintain a balance- all of the children of this generation will all be in the Olympics, they will all be in the Broadway stage, they will all be successful. How do you let them have fun? How do you relax and just enjoy the dance?