Days with the Dorans

 Ok. So if you read that title~ it kind of sums things up... Ali had kind of a tough year in dance this year. Not physically~ she shined on stage and did well but... She really struggled with one of the teachers (not necessarily how she treated Ali but people in general) and being moved up to dance with new dancers for the second year was nice but she wasn't really included in the group. Feeling invisible can be tough. There were times and events in the season that cemented Ali's choice that "this was it"~ She had (has) countdowns on her mirror with dance and she started to think of all the things that she COULD do if she didn't compete in dance... soccer, the musical, after school activities, Jr Honor Society (which she was made! Yay Ali!). That~ paired with some negative experiences~ had her mind all made up that this was IT! She was done as soon as Nationals was over. This also meant that I was done... and that made me a bit sad because I've come to...

Dancers, Moms & Main Characters  This year's dance recital was Forever Frozen! Ali danced in all three recitals and I watched two (the first with family and the last with Julia) and worked backstage as a line-up mom for one. Da Cousins! The family loved the show~ even Seany though you couldn't tell by the pictures afterward!  In addition to the family (pictured first in this post), Auntie Jodi was able to come! Grandma was unable to make this year's show because Abby's graduation party was the next day. Backstage was fun and went smoothly. We don't really see our girls anymore now that they're older but I was able to sneak backstage and take some video. I put my rehearsal videos together HERE . I tried to zoom in on Al and it's the only video where I got her ballet. The Senior Classy Dancers always give awards to the younger Classy Dancers and this year Al got "Most Positive" which I thought was nice. She does regularly tal...

 Wow! It seems like yesterday I was sweating about putting Al's hair in a bun and mascara on her little blond lashes and now we're old pros! At this year's recital all of her fans were REALLY impressed with her growth as a dancer.  She is such a joy to watch and I snapped the pic above (which I LOVE) off stage when I was working... a little perk I stole- no worries- no flash! Now that Al is a Classy Dancer, she gets there earlier to stretch with that group and bonus... her costumes can stay there all week! I dropped her off and actually did some shopping before the recital we watched with family. I also watched her Friday show and worked backstage (as I mentioned) as a line up mom on Saturday night~ something I've done the last couple years. We were able to video the rehearsal so I took some pictures from my video (not the best but necessary for my blog book). I LOVED Al's ballet dance. She has such a grace about her. She was very proud to learn at recit...

  It's hard to believe that Ali started dance 5 years ago!  It seems like she has been dancing forever and I think in this last year has grown tremendously.  It's also been fun watching her friendships at dance develop too!  The girl actually talks now and has had fun with her dance friends off (as well as on) the floors they dance on!  The recital was AWESOME!!  Perhaps the best yet (I always go by what my boys say since they aren't always the most into dance...).  This year's recital was after the story/musical "Wicked" (I'm still trying to get through that book).  I really LOVED all of Ali's dances this year and have watched THIS video I took at her recital a dozen times (at least). Here are some pictures I made from my video which is why they aren't clear- but I need something for my book... Ali's first year in hip-hop was AWESOME!  We Don't Need No- Edukashun! She LOVES her hip hop teacher! Tap=Loathing!  This so...