Hi, my daughter's Creative Movement class has their demonstration on that Saturday at 10:30 a.m. It's just a 30 minute demo of what they have learned this year. These 3 - 5 year olds will make your heart melt during their praise and worship song near the end. They may not be as graceful as their fellow, older dancers yet, but they understand that they are dancing for Jesus and they love what they can do so far. This will be the first time on a stage performing for most of them, so we are praying that they will not be scared or intimidated. They have been practicing so hard, pretending that the mirror is actually the audience.

Each CM class has their own demonstration, so there are two others at 11:30 and 12:30 (I think).

I can't wait to see my own little ballerina dance in her first performance.

Yesterday was DTD's recital rehearsal. Juliana is dancing the Music Box Intro for DTD, too, and their recital is this Saturday in Monroe.

It was a pretty long day for me, since I'm helping with this recital, too. Just before lunchtime, I left work to get stuff ready to load in. Picked up some dry ice (for fog). Packed my tools. Drove over to the storage facility to pick up the fog machines. Then headed out to Monroe. (I believe it's just a few miles west of Jerusalem!) We got most everything set up before the dancers started showing up. It went smoothly. I got roped into doing the curtain (so my mistakes will be painfully obvious to all) in addition to fog.

Juliana and Katrina showed up later that evening, because Juliana had a dance class that afternoon and so couldn't be there earlier. She ran through her Music Box Intro a couple of times. It looked wonderful, especially with the music box prop and on the full stage! I'm so proud of her! (I'm sure we'll catch hell from other parents, though--long story.)

I get today off--meaning I go to work as usual--and then it's back to Monroe again tomorrow from about 8 a.m. until the wee hours of the evening, I expect. The recital's at 3:30 p.m., but there is at least one baby demonstration in the late morning. After all that, we get to clean up, pack up, and put things away. Since we usually leave our venues in better shape than we found them (work as unto the Lord), clean-up is not trivial. Since a PIM parent so graciously donated a trailer to the company, we've had access to that for hauling props, flooring, sets, equipment, and such. But this also means we pack more.

If you really want to go to Monroe to watch DTD's recital, let me know, and I'll get you directions. (As I'm the only Christian ballet groupie I know, I don't foresee too many making the trek to Monroe.)

Today is En Pointe's reheasal. With three recitals to rehearse, it's gonna be a long day.

The recitals all seemed to go rather well. Of course, it's always a blessing and a joy to watch these dancers worship this way. (I'm sure not all of the dancers dance for the Lord. The PIM dancers do, as well as many others, but some dance for themselves or their stage moms. Nevertheless, I think the Lord accepted the worship of those who dance for Him.) Recital production is nowhere near the level of PIM, of course, but it has its challenges, too. For instance, there's no tech crew other than Dewitt, Kathy, and Morgan, yet it's a big job for just these few. This is why my family helps them.

I was also pleased to be able to perform a variety of jobs. In addition to the usual unloading and loading, setup, striking, etc., I was able to do a little sound and light work in the booth during the baby demonstrations and during rehearsals. I did some curtain work during the second EP recital. I also had the great opportunity to do some stage management during a portion of the second EP recital and the entire, third recital. I want to thank Morgan for her generosity in giving me this valuable experience. I hope I didn't let her down.

We get a week off now between the normal dance year and the summer session. Juliana will be going crazy without dance classes. She'll regale us repeatedly at home, though--several times a day. The Lord not only blessed her with an amazing gift of dance but an insatiable drive to worship Him in this way!