Ava has been taking dance lessons- ballet & tap- here in Louisville for the past 3 months, and she has loved it. I grew up taking dance classes from Ava's age thru high school, and watching her in class and at her first recital brings such vivid memories back to me. Ava was a snowflake in the Nutcracker performance. She spent the weekend preparing with the whole dance studio. Saturday we dropped Ava off at the Auditorium for dress rehearsal, and all parents were asked to not stay but to come back by 1:30 to pick up kids. Ava did amazing- for that 1 1/2 hour she was backstage, on stage, and amongst all the other many dancers and teachers. Sunday was the big performance. We got there at 12:30 and I dropped Ava off back stage and then took my seat with Craig and Caleb. Having a lot of experience with dance recitals and competitions over the years growing up, I prepared Craig for what to expect and also the unexpected that could happen with little kids that have never performed in front of a huge audience- they might cry, freeze with stage fright, just stand there, or absolutely love it and dance away. Ava made us so proud...she walked right out on stage with her group of snowflakes, took her spot, and continued to do her dance routine part of the performance, and then tip toed off stage. After the grand finale, I gave her a rose on the stage and then we all headed home. So proud of my ballerina! The following pictures show the weekend of practice and the performance for the Nutcracker, and the last few pics are Ava at her dance studio in class.
