Dear Moms,
In spirit of Mother’s Day last weekend, I decided to dedicate this one to you! Dance moms, especially ballet moms you are a special kind of women. The strong kind, the persistent kind, the kind that no other moms can compete with! You deserve all the admiration you can get.
Your bathroom looks like a dance store with tights hanging everywhere! Your house and your vacuum cleaner are full of bobby pins! Your floors are infested with hair and hair elastics! You have a dance room somewhere in your house full of dance items, because you do not want your dancer to go without! You have at least thought about converting your basement into a dance studio! You definitely have a bar and a mirror in one of your rooms in the house. You have Amazon subscribe and save monthly deliveries of hair spray, hairnets and stitch kits! Your detective skills are superb; finding pointe shoes, canvas shoes and leotard sale better than any website! Your skills expand to a seamstress, musician, makeup artist, photographer, videographer, psychologist, Uber driver, hair dresser, chef, home school teacher, just to name a few. Let's be honest, you are the best choreographer alive!
Ballet moms, you know to speak French! You research, learn and KNOW about ballet better than anyone you surround yourself with! You can name principal dancers, ballet movies and variations. You can smell ballet schools, classes and opportunities in any city, country and state you visit. You KNOW what not pointed toes look like - and they are horrid! You know social media! Hashtags and YouTube videos are your friend! You see with ballet eyes! You find all the opportunities to give your little ballet dancer compliments and a gentle reminders to pull their tummy in, point their toes and lift their chin. You would rather sit an watch your dancer through a window than go out and adult. You say - I can't, my daughter/son has ballet - willingly and proudly!
I love you ballet moms! You make ballet fun! You are always helpful and full of ideas! You spend an enormous amount of time supporting your little dancer's dreams, which may or may not be accomplished in their short career. You tirelessly make an effort to get them to dance on time, make schedules, get family involved, even if in the back of your mind you think ... maybe in 5 or 6 years none of this will matter, but you secretly hope it does, and they keep going. You are still committed and you are full of joy and plans for the new year, new performances, new variations, new competitions, new auditions, new summer program possibilities...
You drive for hours! Your car is your best friend and your worst enemy! You sit in front of studios in your car, stealing pictures or some zzzs if you are lucky! You handle your work, conference calls, community projects, family dinner plans, out of the car while waiting for an audition, class, master class to end. You watch your dancers grow up in the car! You watch them eat their breakfast, lunch, snacks and/or dinner in the car! You help your dancer change in the car! You cry, laugh, fight, sing deal with ballet rejections and ballet joys all in that same car! You can find bobby pins, skirts, tutus, pointe shoes and who knows what other dance related things in your car!
Ballet moms, I want you to know that you are amazing and I adore you! Because of you, your dancer knows discipline, hard work, dedication and crazy love! You are who your dancer wants to be like! You are who your dancer wants to impress the most! You are who your dancer is crazy about! You are who your dancer looks for in the audience! You are the reason your dancer has passion! You make their dance dreams possible!
Ballet moms, YOU ARE IRREPLACEABLE! <3
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