Congratulations Are In Order

Taking a moment here to congratulate my daughter, because she earned it.


A little background first: 

I have mentioned how impressed I am with my daughter's dance school.

I have also mentioned that it is the same school that my sister went to when we were kids.

What I have not mentioned is that the original owner (who was a professional dancer in the legitimate theater in New York) has a daughter (who was also a professional dancer in the legitimate theater in New York) that sponsors a scholarship every year in her mother's name.

Each year it is in a different dance style. Entrants are required to choreograph a two minute routine, and write an essay about (in this years case) why they love Tap Dancing.

Anabelle designed her entire routine, and while she did let us watch her practice, took no suggestions from us.  She also didn't let us see her essay, even for proofreading.

Rosa did pull one of her patented perfect outfit creations in two days.

She was picked as the winner, and once again, it was the reactions of her classmates, teachers, and the older student helpers that showed how much more there is to this school than dance lessons.  Her reaction was pretty impressive too, I think her jaw bounced off the stage on the way to the front of it.

I am immensely proud of her for this accomplishment.  Also, because it required writing as well as dancing, I can feel like I had some genetic contribution to her success, because if it was just for dancing, that would be a stretch at best.

It covers her tap class next year, but the biggest win she got out of it was confidence, immediately deciding to take more and harder classes next year.

The fact that it's connected to the original owner made it extra special for our family, considering our history with the studio.


Congratulations, Anabelle! You did great kiddo.


I asked her if she wanted me to use her essay in this post, but she prefers to keep it as something just between her and Danceworks.  
I can completely respect that feeling, and also enjoy seeing her form that kind of bond with an organization that continues to impress me.  I did peek at one page of it on a morning while taking my blood pressure, since it was on the table.  But I get up for work so early that nothing really stuck in my head. (This has been a common problem of mine lately.)  Therefore it can remain safely private to her and the school.

However, since I am a shameless self promotion whore, I will end with a link to an excellent article in the town magazine the owner wrote about the Moving Company, where she quoted one of my e-mails that led to my own post.

The article starts on page 14,
Here's the link!