Keep Dancing

Along with classes beginning for school, dance classes start up this week as well.  Dancer Girl and Dancer Sister are both very excited.

Dancer Girl is adding pointe to her schedule, following some summer introductory private lessons.  It has been going well and she is thrilled that there doesn't seem to be any additional stress on her back or increased discomfort due to pointe work.

We have spread out her classes over more days to reduce the amount of time she is in dance class each day.  This means more driving for me but less stress on her back.  For now it is a good compromise.  I may feel differently in the middle of winter when I am driving to dance multiple times a week in the snow!!

Classes for the year include: ballet, pointe, contemporary, modern, lyrical, jazz, and dance team.  She is also continuing to work on her solo for competition this year, and may join two friends for a trio competition routine.  Lessons for those will be fit in periodically throughout the year.

(Dancer Sister is taking ballet, lyrical, contemporary, modern, tap, and dance team, as well as working on a solo for competition herself - lots of dance happening throughout the week!!).

The countdown to dance begins!

School days and the brace

Tomorrow classes start up in full force.

We are homeschooling again this year and once a week Dancer Girl & her Dancer Sister take in a full day's worth of classes designed for homeschoolers.  They are very excited to get back into things and are looking forward to seeing all their friends again.

(An aside: The difference between this and traditional school, for those who are curious, is that these classes are very small at only 8-12 kids, only meet once a week for middle school, and the tutors see themselves as coming alongside families rather taking charge of the education.  It ends up being a nice mix of both classroom and independent learning for our homeschool program - the best of both worlds really, since there is value in both group instruction and personalized learning experiences).


Last January, when she first got the brace, Dancer Girl wore it each week during these classes.  She only told her tutors and a few select friends about it and I doubt most people knew she was in a Boston brace.  She has learned to hide it well.

It wasn't easy though - certain classroom chairs were very uncomfortable, the popular beanbag chairs were next to impossible to get in & out of gracefully, it became hotter as the summer approached so the outdoor lunch breaks were tiring, and she couldn't always fully participate in some of the more physically active classes.

This year she doesn't currently have any scheduled activities after her day of classes (which runs approximately 6 hours) so we are going to try to have her go without the brace for the day.

Once basketball starts up this will have to change, but for now she is thrilled to be able to have a brace-free 6-hour day of class!

And I am thrilled to be able to grant her that experience while still maintaining the 18 hour goal.