maddie's lyrical solo

to this girls, dance is life.

she and madison decided earlier this year when they attended the country dance challenge to compete for step up in their lyrical and jazz troupe (in their words) that they could dance better than most of the entrants in the own choreography duo category and decided they were going to get onto making up their own dance together. they have spent countless afternoons doing so and have it pretty much ready to go for the next competitions - and this week - she has started on her lyrical solo for competitions with her teacher miss amelie anddddd her lyrical duo, also with miss madison. she is so excited about it as there is nothing else she would rather do. i love watching her dance her way through life!

 

suda showcase

we've just made it through our first step up dance academy showcase! once a year madeline's dance school has an evening where all the students who are part of a troupe or do solos/ duos etc have the chance to dance in front of their family and friends in a relaxed atmosphere. so off we went so our girl could dance in her lyrical troupe.

it was a great night, there was games, raffles and tables set up like they would be at a quiz night to allow everyone to chat away between sets.

our little dancer was thrilled to be able to participate and loved having me and aunty dom and nannaleah along to watch.

my only complaint is that i'll probably be cleaning up glitter for the next month! fun times! 

back to dancing

school went back this week... and so did dance classes. our maddie is now doing three classes a week, so fingers crossed it goes well and that she's so occupied that she has less energy for fighting with her mum! 

including:

-ballet (same as last year), 

-lyrical troupe - the class she was chosen for that will compete in the local dance festival, and 

-ballet technique, which is a necessary class for those who are a part of the lyrical troupe, to ensure their techniques are correct.

here she is, ready for her first lyrical class. she is so excited! i truly hope she finds as much joy in her dancing again this year, she did so well last year and we have been so proud of her. ♥

maddie at wa ballet

the incredible pinker family got madeline the most amazing christmas gift, a ticket to a day workshop at the west australian ballet, which she waited very impatiently for and finally got to use today. i had to stay home with the boys, but aunty dom was all over it and sent me plenty of pics of our little ballerina having the time of her life!

i love seeing pictures of madeline dancing, she is so madly in love with it and listens and watches so carefully to make sure she does it just right. i really hope she always loves it this much! especially seeing as she will be doing three dance classes a week in just a few weeks!

look at her go!

and i am super proud of her perfect posture here!

here she is with the guy who taught their workshop. she had the "best day ever!" and wanted to go back again tomorrow haha.

go girl. shoot for the moon! we are so proud of you and your dancing

and we are so grateful to the pinkers. who knows, maybe one day she will be dancing at uncle taui's work... the west australian ballet! ♥

christmas in elfenbrook

a week or two ago, the owners of madeline's dance school posted in their parents page that the school would be participating in the annual ellenbrook christmas pageant "christmas in elfenbrook" and asked for volunteers to be part of their group as they danced their way down the main street. maddie was thrilled to pieces and instantly said she'd love to do it, so i put her name down... i must admit though, i actually thought it was unlikely she'd get to be in it, as she was one of only a handful of kids who only do one class - and therefore only had one costume from the concert... which is what they would be wearing.

to my surprise though, a sheet came out with their allocated costumes and positions in the parade and there she was! i actually had a laugh with one of the teachers, who said she'd internally groaned knowing she had to put the tutus in, as they are so huge they require extra space around them, and therefore only allowed for three of them in their line, instead of the five in all the others. oops.

i was incredibly proud of myself, as i managed to do her makeup myself this time, full stage makeup, with the heavy eye shadow, liner (with added glitter at little miss's request) and bright red lippie. (maybe i can do this dance mum thing after all. haha. also, maybe not? i am the least dance mummiest person there is!)

we had a great time at the parade, watching all the people go by, (my favourite was the gingerbread man below, oh and of course, my daughter! tehe) eating icecream (we tried the ones that are little balls in a cup, if you haven't tried them, you should, they are yum!) looking at the stalls - and buying crystals for miss madeline... it was a fun afternoon.

the adorable gingerbread man

and miss madeline in her bright blue tutu... such a good colour for her! if only the makeup didn't make her look like she is twelve all of a sudden! i can't cope...

merry christmas elfenbrook! we love where we live!

step up 10th anniversary concert

our little ballerina danced in her first ever concert this evening and wow was she amazing! we were so proud of her as she danced with her class in their "bluebirds" number. she was focused and tried her hardest all the way through.

i really didn't know what to expect, but i was blown away at how much work must have gone into the concert, especially for the opening sequence. the teachers and a selection of students had made a video that played on the digital screen on the stage prior to them starting their dance on the stage... it was epic. although this is our first year at step up, the dance school is celebrating their 10th anniversary this year and had gone all out to make their anniversary concert amazing... and it showed. i can't wait to watch the dvd when it arrives.

the junior ballet "bluebirds." thank goodness for the other mums, last night at the dress rehearsal while i was trying to keep alex quiet when this was taken - and sent to me via sms.

dress rehearsal finale

the concert was very long, especially when you add in awards at the end and i was grateful every single minute for my friend emily who offered to be the "dance mum" for the evening so i could sit in the audience and enjoy the show with many others to help with alex, rather than being stuck backstage in a crowded dress room with a tiny baby. she was an absolute lifesaver!

we had the most wonderful surprise when the awards were handed out, our maddie won the class trophy for her ballet class! we were absolutely thrilled with this, considering she was a last minute addition to the concert and she'd been front and centre for nearly their entire dance. (she had spent most of the year not wanting to do it, then changed her mind at a time that we thought she could no longer be added in, only to have one of the dance teachers chase doug down one sunday and ask us to reconsider. maddie looked like she had won the lottery that day!) obviously their teacher has been really pleased with her dancing and we couldn't have been happier for her!

as you can see, she was loving life and was so so chuffed with her trophy. what a cutie! i don't think i have ever seen her that excited in her life.

me and my big little girl! i am so proud of how hard she has worked with her dancing. ♥

things just got better from there, when we found her ballet teacher miss georgia to thank her, she took me aside and said that maddie had great potential and had proved herself to be a great little dancer, then asked if she would like to join the lyrical troupe next year and do competitions!! oh my gosh! doug and i will obviously talk about it, but i we are so thrilled for her to have even been asked! it looks like she'll have a great path ahead of her in dancing.

doesn't she look like the happiest little girl in the world? i am so pleased that her first dance concert was such a success. 

maddie with her proud as punch parents ♥

and last but certainly not least... maddie with my lovely friend emily backstage. emily - i am so so grateful for you! thank you from the bottom of my heart!

♥

what a night!

some photos ordered from the concert - look at our sweet girl. she makes the most beautiful ballerina!

costume check

today was maddie's dance school end of year concert costume check. oh my gosh. what an angel. doesn't she look beautiful?! she was happier than i have ever seen her dancing around in her tutu just  on top of the world.

a few months ago, the letters for the end of year concert went out and madeline didn't want to do it. she had stage fright and was terribly shy at the thought of being on stage in front of people. so we returned the form with "no" on it. for the next few weeks we had begging and pleading to change the form and she told us over and over she wanted to be in it. only the date for forms being handed in had passed. luckily to her delight, one of the teachers found doug when he picked her up after class one saturday, to ask if we would reconsider and allow her to be in the concert after all. apparently her dancing was very good and they didn't want her to miss out. so the second chance came and here we are!

watching her today in her tutu, showing their dance to the mums at costume check was something else. she had a look of perfect concentration on her face, carried herself beautifully and did her steps perfectly. she just looked so so happy and i am thrilled beyond words. she may be a pain sometimes (most of the time) but she has really found something she loves and somewhere she wants to be. let's hope she sticks to it and keeps trying her hardest ♥

birthday ballet outing

yesterday (which was madeline's actual birthday) she and joseph had to come to a midwife appointment with me. they were so well behaved and i was stoked... so afterwards we went to sherbert bakeshop and cafe for a treat

i love it when these two love each other. it's my favourite... i just wish it happened more often! this photo says it all though, it's times like this that make being a mum totally worth it.

it's someone's birthday somewhere? that someone is meeeeee!

after the cafe, we drove a little way up the road to turn around, and used the west australian ballet centre carpark. it was then i had the most wonderful idea. my friend taui works at the ballet centre and should be at work at that time... so i made a call, hoping he was available. to my absolute delight he was, and madeline got the best birthday present of all time, a private hour long tour of the west australian ballet!

we went into all the studios, where madeline was able to dance to her hearts content... not once did taui rush her, he was more than happy for her to dance her heart out and insisted his work could wait, as nothing was more important than madeline's birthday. what a love!

we even got to have a peek into the studio where all the costumes are made!! madeline was in ballet heaven. what a lucky, lucky girl!

posing with uncle taui before going home.

what an amazing gift. i absolutely cannot believe how lucky our girl is! it has just renewed her ballet obsession that much more and she is bursting with joy, telling everyone that it was the best birthday present (and best birthday!!) ever. oh it's great to be seven!

♥

i have no doubt this feisty little redhead is going places!