Our dancing princess

Karcyn just wrapped up her second semester of creative dancing lessons. I'm SO glad we signed her up. Sandwiched between the sea of testosterone that are her siblings, it's just what she needed. And we were hoping that it would also help her trip over air a whole lot less.

I wasn't able to make it to her first dress rehearsal back in December due to other obligations. Besides, I wanted to be surprised by her performance at the recital. But then she got sick and ALMOST didn't make it to the recital. She was a champ, though, and danced anyway and no one was the wiser. Except for her proud momma.

Lesson learned for me. I'm no longer skipping out on the dress rehearsals if at all possible. These girls are just too cute not to see both performances.

Here's Karcyn waiting for the dancing princess introductions and her small group dance.

 

 

 

During the dress rehearsal, Karcyn loved to practice her bows and curtsies that were not in the choreographed dance moves :) She'd also blow handfuls of kisses to the audience as she left the floor and once she even called out, "Bye, Ms. Heidi!" She made lots of people laugh with her exuberance.

 

[After the dress rehearsal, while waiting for the girls to change out of their costumes, I heard someone say "Karcyn" over by Ms. Heidi. The next thing I knew, a lady I've never seen before was walking in front of the group where I was sitting and asked, "Who is Karcyn's mom?" I raised my hand hesitantly and said I was. She smiled and said, "Oh.my.goodness. That little girl of yours. You've got to get her to Hollywood. She is full of drama!" I chuckled and said "Tell me about it." Then she said something very touching. She explained that of all the girls out there, Karcyn was the only one dancing like she loved it. She enjoyed watching Karcyn because you can just tell that it's joyful to her. I agreed and thanked her for her comments. Then another mom turned to me who was sitting off to my left and said that her daughter had just started dancing in January and she (the mom) had noticed Karcyn being so kind and friendly to her daughter and they both really appreciated it. I had no idea, but was not surprised. That's my Karcyn. She loves everyone and is so full of life and...joy. Jared and I can't take any of the credit either. These special qualities are gifts from her Heavenly Father that are just a part of her sweet spirit. We feel so blessed to have her in our family.]

 

The dancing princesses needed to practice their femininity. These pictures are from both the rehearsal (purple fan) and the recital (white fan).

"You must walk feminine, talk feminine
Smile and beguile feminine
Utilize your femininity
That's what every girl should know
If she wants to catch a beau.

"Dance feminine, glance feminine
Act shy and sigh feminine
Compliment his masculinity
That's what every girl should know
If she wants to catch a beau.

"Let him do the talking
Men adore good listeners
Laugh but not too loudly, ha ha
If he should choose to tell a joke.

"Be radiant, but delicate
Memorize the rules of etiquette
Be demure, sweet and pure
Hide the real you.

"You must look feminine, dress feminine
You're at your best feminine
Emphasize your femininity
That's what every girl should know
Femininity, femininity
That's the way to catch a beau." ~Disney "Femininity" lyrics

The dancing princesses were under the rule of their wicked step-mother Rowena (aka Ms. Heidi) and were subject to many chores. But they chose to do them with a happy heart and while singing a "Happy Working Song" (from "Enchanted").

 

Karcyn took the cleaning very seriously, just as she does at home. As you'll notice in this picture, she's still cleaning while the other princesses are dancing. She cleaned all along the back wall, along the side and worked her way back to us where the audience was sitting (at least 15 feet in length) and cleaned everybody's shoes that were on the dance floor. I would have taken more pictures, but Jared and I were laughing too hard.

I can't remember what this song was. I just love seeing Karcyn smiling, attentive, and looking like a dancer :)

 

One of our favorite songs is "Stepping on a Stone." Such cute lyrics and fun dance moves. Karcyn is a very animated little girl and doesn't hold back her excitement. (Karcyn just sang the lyrics for me again because I don't know them :)

 

Just step on a stone and do a little wiggle and clap your hands like me (clap, clap).

Just turn around and wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, it's as easy as can be.

 

 

Now point your toe and everyone knows--you're dancing--can't you see?

 

Just step on a stone, point your toe, turn around, and wiggle, wiggle, wiggle. It's magic and we're free.

Karcyn was the line leader and lead the other dancers around the room as they sang La la lalala lalalalala la la la la la la la :)

 

Karcyn was then transformed into a beautiful butterfly. (I love this color orange on Karcyn. I was a little bummed to see she was given a different set of "wings" for the recital. Orange is Karcyn's favorite color and it has been since the beginning of the year...and I'd bet money this costume is probably why!)

 

(The multitude of costume changes and the quality of the costumes is incredible!)

 

This is Karcyn thrilled and surprised with her "new shoes" in another song.

 

 

And finally, after their wicked step-mother Rowena left the kingdom, the dancing princesses were able to get ready for the Royal Ball.

At the conclusion of the recital, each dancing princess was given a sash with their name on it and a Certificate of Honor so they will always remember they are beautiful and special princesses. Ms. Heidi also took the time to acknowledge each girl and the great things they've done that semester (impressive--that's not easy to do with 14 girls, in front of a live audience and without notes). Karcyn was commended for her kindness and compassion as she reached out to another girl who was new to the class. Karcyn would always say "Good job!" or "You're doing great!" and helped make that girl feel more comfortable.

 

After all the girls got their sashes, they were told to take their certificates to their parents and then go back to the floor for a group dance picture. Karcyn dutifully came to us and while gingerly stroking her sash, her eyes lit up and she excitedly said, "Look! I'm just like a boy scout now!" Jared and I busted up laughing. Poor Karcyn. Even in dancing, she's still influenced by her brothers ;)

 

 

We had no sooner walked through the door to leave the dance studio when Karcyn exclaimed, "You guys were the BEST audience in the WHOLE world! Thank you for coming, Mom. Thank you for coming, Dad."

Our pleasure Karcyn. Our pleasure!