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One of these days I will write about something other than dance...

We just got back from Starpower Nationals where Ashley competed in dance against many talented dancers from all across the United States and Canada.  There were many great studios present, many of them from Florida.  Watching the amazing talent on stage only made me wonder more about Ashley's future in dance.  Don't get me wrong Ashley will continue to dance as long as we can financially afford it.  But I wonder if Ashley should continue to compete in dance. I worry about her getting discouraged when she sees talent she feels she may never be able to achieve.  Ashley is a talented dancer but is she gifted?  Many trained professionals have told me that she has talent, and I do see that. Ashley has worked extremely hard in dance to get where she is today, many are born with this natural ability to dance, Ashley is not one of them.  However, she has the heart for dance and I believe sometimes that is more important then natural ability.

Ashley's solo performances did not reach the overall level, as she was competing against very talented dancers such as Marrin Espy from Keegan Dance Company and Harrison Weiland from Shooting Stars.  However, Ashley received a 4 1/4 stars out of 5 on both her solos which to me is remarkable considering the many other amazing 12- 14 year old soloist she competed against.   The five group numbers Ashley competed in did not make it into the overalls but did receive 4 1/2 to 4 3/4 stars out of  5.  Again, our studio competed against studios from Ohio, New Jersey, Canada, Georgia just to name a few.  Of course, every studio's goal is to reach the overalls but that does not define who you are as a dancer or a studio, I am very proud of our girls for dancing their hearts out.

We have about 5 more weeks before dance starts back up again.  Many decisions need to be made about where we are going to go with Ashley and dance.  If she remains in the dance company, how many numbers can we afford to let her do with or without fundraising?  Will Ashley compete two solos or one?  Does she perform her first ever duet/trio?  For me my goal is to only have Ashley in dance classes three days a week instead of the five days a week that she has been doing for the last 4 years.  My other goal is to keep Sunday's free of dance so that we can have some family time.  And vacations, time when there is no school, will be used for just that,  a vacation, not a time for dance rehearsals.  I am not sure if I will be able to achieve my goals but I will certainly try too.  Achieving my goals is important to our family dynamics and overall happiness.

Since we have a break from dance for some time, we are going to use this time to watch the very last space shuttle launch, go to the beach, celebrate Ashley's 13th birthday with a very big surprise and spend some much needed time with our families in Mobile, Alabama.  It really is to bad that both Joey and I have to work these last several weeks of summer.  Truly wish we could afford to go on a family cruise or spend a long weekend on the beach before the kids go back to school, baseball and dance.

Comments

M. Hoffman said…
Laurie
I hope and pray that Ashley don't get discurgaged at all 4 1/4 is a great score for her. I would have given her a 5 but I was not there scoring.
Ashley don't give up do what you love to do and enjoy.

Many prayers and hugs for you Ashley

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