Saturday Dance Class

Bonne Maman was here when Katrina had her first pre-ballet class through the Cupertino Parks and Rec department. This was a lower-key, less expensive, less committed way to go than a "real" dance place that has monthly tuition, dress codes and recitals to rehearse for.

Katrina was so excited to go to a dance class!


I got choked up seeing my little girl doing something I've always loved. And how cute is a roomful of 4-year-olds in little dance outfits?


Unfortunately, as soon as the class started, so did Katrina's bad attitude. She wouldn't follow what the teacher was doing, though would basically stand in the right place. When she had to cross the floor with the other little jumping-bean dancers, she'd drag her arms down and throw her head back in a classic brother gesture of "I'm SOOOO BOOORRRED."

Later she gave up altogether and threw herself on the floor while the rest of the class did the hokey-pokey in a circle.


To me, this wasn't the most appalling performance though. This class had 3 cryers, one of who basically stuck it out with one visit from Mom, but the other two had to go in and out of class several times. At one point, both of them were outside class with their Moms, right by the dance room door, wailing loudly, and their mothers talking to them in rapid-fire Mandarin in an apparent attempt to calm them down. 5 minutes later, they were back in class, then 5 minutes later, back outside. I found this really rude and disruptive for the teacher, who already had her hands full and had made an attempt to minimize the ins/outs from the class. Jeez, if your kid is crying that much, leave!

I made certain to avoid any potential of such a show from Katrina and stayed out of sight, though she wasn't looking for us. Her obstinance is more rooted in irritation that the class wasn't what she was expecting, so she'll show THEM. It's nothing about being shy or fearful or even making an impression on Mom, it's about being PO'd that it wasn't all twirling and scarves. Newsflash, little girl: dance is a lot of work!

But it always takes her a few times to get into a new thing, so I'll take her back next week for certain.

Later when we opened Gabriel's birthday present from Bonne Maman -- a skateboard -- she was all over it and wanted to ride it right away, no hesitation. Maybe for her dance really is just about the pretty clothes.

Whew, I've been working hard this past week -- with Mom here I took a few nights off, but it's been every night for a while, hence the lame unedited blog posts!

2/28/2011