The Audition

“Claire, I’m taking you to the auditions for Butler Ballet’s Nutcracker this Saturday.”

“OK,” she said happily.

That girl’s always game for anything, I thought.

“You too, Brooke. You’re in the age range and I think you’re under 5 feet tall.”

“Uh … I don’t think I want to,” said Brooke.

“Me either,” echoed Younger Sister.

… yeah, game for anything … unless Big Sister doesn’t want to do it.

I hesitated. Out of all of our kids, Brooke is the most shy and quiet. She’s content to stay in the background and, at the age of 11, quite self-conscious. Even around our own dinner table, her cheeks start glowing if the noise dies down while she’s talking. Thankfully for her, this doesn’t happen often.

As parents, Mick and I aren’t cemented in our personalities, but he tends to be the one pushing the kids and I’m more likely to give them a break. If it’s something I feel very strongly about, I’ll persevere, but in general, if it doesn’t have long-term negative consequences, I won’t be demanding on an issue. I try to consider their individual personalities, passions and quirks when trying to decide how best to handle a situation.

My first instinct was to go along with her. But then I remembered my conversation with Rachel. Rachel, who used to hold the title as the shyest, quietest Worley Kid. Who, at 13 and 14 years old battled nervousness weekly to the point of getting physically sick before playing at our small church. “You don’t have to do this; Pastor Mark will understand,” I told her on the way to church, while she kept her eyes shut and her pale face resting in the open car window. “She’ll be fine; it’s good for her,” Mick said.

And it turns out, it was good for her. The other day, after she finished her first full week at Butler, she said “I don’t know what I’d be doing with my life right now if it weren’t for piano camp and the competitions. I’m so glad I did that, even though it was so hard.”

There were also those other Worley girls I wrote about once who stepped into a new, demanding situation, pushed themselves and were better for the experience.

But those daughters were older and had different temperaments. What to do with this child? Push or give in?

I decided to take a chance and give her a nudge. So, I talked about all the reasons why trying out was a good idea and how it would be fun and no pressure, because these people would be working with young kids, and it would probably be just simple stretches and positions (I didn’t let on that these were just guesses - what did I know?). And because stubbornness is not one of her qualities, we found ourselves at Lilly Hall on Saturday, along with lots of other little Nutcracker hopefuls with numbers pinned to their leotards.

When we got there, our girls were very nervous and uneasy. They pressed themselves back against the wall in the crowded lobby and just watched everybody, not even wanting to stretch out. Meanwhile, I filled out their forms and then spotted a friend nearby whose daughter was auditioning and chatted with her, giving them some time to try to relax a little and get used to the place. Eventually though, I had to convince them that they needed to stretch out a little. So they finally did a little warming up, and then it was time.

When Brooke’s group was called, I squeezed around a window with a bunch of other nervous parents, taking in the scene. The audition room was huge and mirror-lined. There was a long table in front where several serious-looking ballet-types sat watching the girls over their glasses, with notepads and pencils ready. Some Butler Ballet dancers were there also, gracefully demonstrating the combinations for the young dancers. The kids had been separated into groups according to height and Brooke was one of the taller girls, so she ended up in a class with dancers who seemed to be at least her age but mostly older.

I watched as Brooke’s group tried out the first combination. I could see her clearly in the front row, looking beautiful even as she struggled a bit to keep up with the sashays, piquè turns and leaps, which came in quick succession. She had an unsure look and a shy, self-conscious smile on her face as she glanced up at the judges. My heart went out to her and for the first time, I wondered if I’d been wrong in encouraging her to do this. She looked like she’d rather be anywhere else than in that room, trying to get unfamiliar, difficult ballet combinations right in a room full of other dancers watching and ballet instructors critiquing her. The group went through the combinations several times, and each time, she seemed more sure of herself, but as soon as she was catching on, the next group came forward. The audition lasted quite a while – far longer than Claire’s – and it was probably an hour and a half before she came out in a sea of black leotards. They’d told the dancers they would be contacting everybody in a few days, so we headed out to the car. 

As she climbed into the back seat, she surprised me with this: “That was SO FUN! I want to do it again next year!” What? Really?! Fun? Next year? And then she excitedly went over everything that happened, even talking about her nervousness and how she missed a few of the steps because she was trying so hard to learn them quickly. But overall, she seemed excited and energized by doing something that was so different and challenging from anything she’d done before. We decided to get some ice cream to celebrate, and while I listened to her, I silently wondered how she would handle it if she wasn’t picked. She got quiet for a minute and then, as if reading my thoughts, said “It doesn’t really matter if I make it or not, it was a good experience for me.” Yes, that. THAT was how I hoped she’d feel about the whole thing. For sure, to see our girls dancing on the Clowe’s Hall stage would be so amazing, but for Brooke, just making it through the audition was enough this year. And so it was enough for me, too.

I don’t yet know the end of this story - we’re supposed to find out this week if either girl made it - but as far as I’m concerned, the audition was a success: Brooke did it! She stepped up, took a chance, and in the process found a bit of confidence that has become a part of who she is.

The Nutcracker, Take 5

 

Five shows down, one to go! This afternoon, we finally got to see Courtney and Erica dance in IBC’s Nutcracker! They were cast as “Young Ladies” in the party scene, and they were very graceful and lovely Young Ladies. :-) The dresses they wore were provided by IBC and had been made from curtains! (when Mick heard this, he quoted Carol Burnette’s Scarlett O’Hara “I spotted it in the window and just couIdn’t resist it.” HA!) 

 

I had the girls get back into their costumes after the show and got a few pictures out in the lobby. They have spent an inordinate amount of time together in the past few weeks and still get along so well. How fun it is to watch your kids having fun together. :-)

 

  

The Joyful Anticipation of Advent

We’ve jumped into the Advent season full-swing, with tree-hunting, special meals and using the “good dishes.” This year, we’ve also added Nutcracker rehearsals and performances for Courtney and Erica.  The Lebanon Ballet had their Nutcracker performance back in May. I remember this time last year, saying to several people that I was so glad we went to a ballet school which always held their recitals in May rather than December, since December was busy enough. Now that Courtney and Erica are also taking classes at another school, we get to experience the busyness of the Nutcracker in December! (Why do I set myself up for things like this?!  :-D ) The first two performances were yesterday and there will be 4 (!) next weekend, then we will be done. Thankfully, we’ve been able to carpool with some friends and that has helped a LOT.

 

 Yes, Courtney is using an iPad for a mirror. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

As usual, we end up squeezing quite a bit into December – it will always be more busy, as it should be. The challenge is to approach this busyness with a spirit of joy and anticipation.  Nancy Wilson sums it up well in her post A Joyful Advent:

It’s easy to excuse a lot of fussing over the massive pile of gifts to buy and wrap, cookies to bake, cards to mail, trees to put up and decorate, and all the rest. But pause for a moment. Each day opens up looking forward to the appearance of the Child. Joyful anticipation should be building.

And it is.

Pointe taken

This year, we signed up Courtney & Erica for their first summer ballet intensive, which was a 3-week-long camp. We knew they’d learn a lot and be stretched – literally and figuratively - and boy were they. To say the first couple of days were rocky would be an understatement. Day 1 was a frustratingly difficult day for both as they tried to adjust to new faces, location, techniques, expectations, etc. Day 2 was even worse, and Rachel and I spent most of the drive home giving them pep talks while they stared out the windows, looking defeated and exhausted. I started fearing mutiny and mentally prepared the ‘ol “Do you know how much this thing cost?” speech. I don’t think it would’ve mattered. On the drive there on Day 3, just before we got to the studio, Courtney asked me what road we’d just turned off of. After I told her, she said “OK, I’m just trying to memorize the route in case I decide to walk home.”  She did not sound like she was kidding.

On top of all the newness of everything, they also had to try to get used to “zee Russian accents” of their instructors. All but a couple of them were from Russia. During the intensive, the ballet school posted this picture on their FB page:

Imposing bunch, no? The lady in yellow is the founding artistic director and, in spite of the beautiful smile, was quite a tough cookie. They did like her, however. In fact, the tall, intimidating guy at the right end, “Mr. Alexei,” was their absolute favorite. He told lots of stories of his incredibly-demanding life growing up as a ballet dancer in Russia. This was their favorite quote of his: “With American dancers, you cannot slap them or insult them.  You must find different ways to motivate them.” The girls thought this was pretty funny, actually – especially when said with a Russian accent, which seemed to improve each day, right along with their ballet skills. ;-)

After those first 2 rough days, however, Day 3 ended up being the turning point, and things started coming together. They started learning their dances and getting used to the heavy accents. And they especially enjoyed seeing good friends Emma and Isabelle during lunch each day, sharing stories, jokes and food. They came home each night and entertained us all during dinner with their stories and demonstrations of bits of their dances. They made friends with the Japanese dancers who knew no English. We looked up a few Japanese phrases online, but they were too shy to try them out. They did share the common language of ballet, plus some popular American songs that they sang together.

Through it all, they spun this elaborate tale about how good all the other dancers were and how awful they were. Being latecomers to ballet, I knew there’d be a learning curve for them, but when I accused them of exaggerating, they said “No, we’re not kidding Mom!” and “You’ll see!” On the last day, the school put on a recital, showcasing what they’d learned, and, well, what can I say? I was stunned.

From the contemporary dance. I need a higher resolution image so you can see the detail in Erica’s arms! So strong!

Courtney is in the middle of this pas de trois.

I mean, how beautiful are they?! It was all I could do keep from standing up and announcing to everyone they were my daughters! I was incredibly proud of them. They learned so much … and I did, too. I learned that they can definitely hold their own in a group of dancers who, in some cases, have studied many more years than they have. I also learned they are awfully hard on their own dancing skills, but these pictures tell the real story!

 

The Boy at the Barre

Things are getting exciting at ballet. We are just under 2 months away until the production of “The Nutcracker” and the costumes came in this week!

Sarah – a Chinese Dancer

Brooke – one of the Party Children

Olivia and Claire – Snow Angels

I took the boys with me last night because I knew they’d enjoy watching all the girls practicing. They also got to see Noah, who is playing the parts of Fritz and the Nutcracker Prince. Apparently, it was all very inspiring for Grant. At one point, between classes, we spotted him over at the barre. Amid all the tutus and glitter, there was my oldest boy standing in first position (Kelly noted that his feet were at a perfect 180⁰ angle – a little bit more than first position, actually :-). He was very carefully and slowly practicing plies and rond de jambes. I was so thankful I had my camera! And it didn’t seem to bother him in the least that we were watching. Oh so funny and sweet! The girls and I joked about the possibility of sneaking him to ballet classes in the future.  :-)

(Dear Adult Grant – I hope you’ll forgive me for posting these. Who knows, maybe when you’re reading this as an adult, you’ll be dancing with the Royal Ballet. I’m sure Daddy would like it if you were using those feet to kick field goals in Lucas Oil Stadium.)

Favorite Photos: Ballet Beauty

Out of dozens of pictures I took of the girls dancing during ballet class this year, who would’ve thought this would be my favorite picture?

I took this back in March. I can’t believe I even got it. I had the long lens on so I could stay as far back as possible and still get some close-ups of the dancing. Sarah and Isabella were right in front of me and for just a moment, Isabella whispered into Sarah’s ear. I snapped as fast as I could and only got this one shot.

Barns, baby kitties and ballet pictures

Whew.  I’m not sure how long I can keep up this pressure to come up with a clever blog title.  OK, this one wasn’t too clever, but it sums up my topics this time. 

We spent Saturday down at Mom & Dad’s while the guys helped put up a barn.  It was pretty warm and very humid, but they did well and got the whole thing done by nightfall.  And it only took 2 trips to Lowe’s!  We also had fun celebrating the June birthdays with a pinata. 

Work is fascinating … we could watch it for hours.  ;-)

Dad, giving his best impersonation of a supervisor.  He’s so silly!  :-D

The happy birthday girls posing in front of their cake.  Unfortunately for us, Benjamin couldn’t be there.  Happily for him, he was at the Zoo with Monica’s parents. 

Once the kids were done with the piñata, it was time to use the rope for a new game: Human Piñata!  Thankfully, Rachel didn’t let her go any higher than that.  Still made me nervous … no more broken bones, please! 

Sunday brought an unexpected adventure.  A friend needed to give away his 5-week-old kittens, due to the fact that their mother was hit by a car that morning.  One look at a picture of one of them was all it took.  The girls ended up picking out Bentley and Violet.  They’re quite cute and, we’re hoping, very resilient!

Bentley

Violet

I’ll end with the ballet pictures (yay, I remembered my camera this time!!).  We are really liking the classes with Ms. Hume.  The girls are all listening well and look beautiful.  I will restrain myself and just publish some of my favorite pictures. 

(ouch.)

Claire entertained herself with 2 dolls during the big girls’ class.

Grant had a car for entertainment (anything with wheels will do for him).

And, well, Trent was just entertaining.  ♥

Tuesday, June 7 – Leotards, Tippy Toes and Ballerinas. Oh my!

So, Tuesday brought the long-awaited, much-anticipated BALLET LESSON DAY!  This was a day they had been counting down to since I made the official registration phone call almost 2 weeks ago!  Sarah, Brooke & Claire actually came downstairs that morning at 7:00 a.m., they were so excited. 

Unfortunately, I had to work for a few hours (ahem, to help pay for these ballet lessons!).  My first Friday of the month was pre-empted by Abby’s birthday party, Monday was reserved for Erica’s cast fitting, so that moved my work day back to Tuesday. 

My best-laid plan was to leave work by 3:00, get home by 3:45, spend 45 minutes getting last-minute things ready for the lesson, which starts at 5:00.  Well … you know what they say about the best-laid plans…

After enjoying a quiet, but productive several hours at the firm, I was summoned late in the afternoon by some Accounting ladies who needed some help.  I spent the last 45 minutes of my work day helping them and then trying to scoot out as quickly as possible, amid some idle chatter.  I think I mentioned three times “Well, I really need to go take the girls to ballet…”

I had to swing by the Orrs to pick up Alix’s leotard from their mailbox (I’m sure the mail carrier was scratching his/her head) since the leotard we ordered for Courtney hadn’t arrived yet.  By the time I got home, it was 4:30 and Rachel was finishing up the last ‘do (hair buns for all).  We had a few wardrobe issues (dirty leotard, Claire’s tights several sizes too large, etc.) which were all taken care of en route.  They actually all looked great by the time we got there at (4:58).  Unfortunately, in the mad dash to rush out of the house (why is it so often a mad dash???) I forgot to grab the camera!  <smacking forehead>  I was so disappointed, but I hope to remember it next time, and I’m sure they’ll all look just as beautiful.  Everyone did well and their classes are small – which I love – partly because I won’t have as many obstructions between the camera and our ballerinas.  ;-) 

And lastly, since I can’t have a picture-less post …

Broken Bones and Ballerinas

So it's been a very eventful couple of days, eh?  Friday found us driving here, there and everywhere.  We started out early Friday morning in our "Birthday Party Bus".  Erica, Kate, Laurabeth and Danielle had been invited to a birthday party down near Mom and Dad's.  We picked up the other 3 girls, then headed down.  After dropping them off, we drove by Bruce & Mona's and spent a short time visiting Matt & family, who are in Indiana between mission trips.  Then it was over to Mom and Dad's.  After lunch, we took a walk through the field to visit the Craig's new barn.  Incredible with an amazing amount of stone for the foundation and some very old barn beams used in the construction.  When we got back to Mom & Dad's, Dad's Father's Day gift was just being delivered:  a new John Deere mower!  We admired that for a few minutes, then loaded back up and picked up the birthday party girls. 

From there, we came back home for a couple of hours, then drove over to church for a cookout.  The Elmores were in town, so it was good to see them.  While we were there, Erica was running and playing with the other kids when she had some sort of a collision with another girl.  She spent the rest of the evening in quiet tears holding her arm with an ice pack on it.  There was quite a bit of swelling, but aside from that, it didn't look too bad.  By lunchtime on Saturday, however, she was still in quite a bit of pain, so we decided to take her to Lafayette for a Med-Check.  Rachel went with Erica and Mick to Lafayette, while I took the rest of the gang to Noblesville to get ballet slippers for ballet lessons which begin this Tuesday.  While we were there, Mick called and told me there is, in fact, an in-line break.  So, she's wearing a brace until we see a specialist to find out the next step.  I'm holding onto hope that the brace will suffice and there won't be any need for a cast, but I don't know much at all about broken bones, so we shall see. 

I had to laugh last night when she was complaining about having to wear the brace to church today.  "It just doesn't look very churchy."  :-D  That's a girl for you.  Stay tuned for ballet lesson pictures after Tuesday.  :-)