Dance Concert Professional Shots

One of the most wonderful parts of the dance concert is having the chance to relive it all over again when the photographs become available for purchase - and then one last time when the video is sent out. I love looking through the shots and although they are very expensive, I always get a few... and may have gone a little crazy this year.

I loved this lyrical troupe dance so much. It was so graceful and emotional.

I 100% cried when Maddie was lifted up, almost as if she was flying above the others. I'm such a sook.

So, so beautiful!

Their senior ballet class this year performed a routine where the younger girls were waiters. They had giggled so much about the costumes and eventually suggested to their teacher that she get them moustaches. It was too cute for words. Our first year without a tutu or flowy skirt, but I thought this dance was amazing with such a good story.

Little waiter Madeline.

Dancing with your best friends is always the best part.

Jazz troupe was just the most powerful epic dance and I am so sad that it will only ever be done once and never make it to competitions. They just absolutely owned the stage and I loved every second of it.

Our girl, constantly front and center.

She's just an absolute doll.

I just love this photo of her and Madison, it is everything you need to know about them, when it comes to dance, they will not be separated or beaten, at anything. haha.

Madeline took on a second jazz class this year with some of the older girls and loved it. Sub-senior Jazz. This dance was awesome. So glad she decided to do it.

She is amazing! I could seriously watch her all the time.

I showed a few of these shots to Jakes mum afterwards and we had a laugh together, apparently he had been bragging the day after the concert to anyone that would listen about how awesome his girlfriend was is and how she had won a trophy at the concert and so on. Yep. We know. She's pretty amazing! So proud to be her mum. ❤

Dancing with your bestie

It's October school holidays, which means it's time for these besties to be on stage together again. They love sharing the stage and are always so beautifully in sync. They are truly a joy to watch. The last few days have been a whirlwind of costumes for their duos and Madeline's solo.

They nailed their own choreography duo and took out first place which they were super excited about.

WOO!

Maddie's victory was made that much sweeter by her teacher Mrs Hart turning up to watch their duo. She is so lovely! I don't know many teachers who would go out of their way to go to a dance competition in the school holidays!

You could not wipe the smile off of this girls face when she came away with an Honorable Mention (4th place) for her lyrical solo... She has worked so hard for it and I am so proud of her. I love watching her on stage. Nothing else matters to her.

So grateful for her beautiful dance teacher Miss Amelie for making such a beautiful dance for her.

SO PROUD OF YOU!

Last on this set of dances before we go into troupes (big week of six dances this time!) was the girls lyrical duo. No place this time unfortunately, but they did a beautiful job.

I love that they are so close. I hope they never lose that. 

Love you girls! ❤

step up showcase 2021

tonight was the annual step up dance academy showcase. once a year, the step up dancers perform their solos, duos, groups and troupes to an audience of their peers, teachers and parents from the dance school. it's a great night, allowing them to trial using the stage instead of the studio and test out their routines prior to the upcoming competitions that are held in the same location. 

it was go go go for madeline as she had 5 costumes for the evening. crazy town. i have to admit i didn't see much other than her routines as i felt like i was always out the back changing her from one to the next, but she really enjoyed the night and feels much more ready for comps so i am glad for that.

first up was madeline and madisons own choreography - to problem (the monster remix) by becky g. they had so much fun with it and the studio owner said she really liked it. we are thrilled as it's going into competitions!

cutest little monster i've ever seen. i actually love their costumes, they suit the dance and music perfectly. we were stoked to be able to reuse the black biketard from their jazz routine last year and just add the green bustle and accessories.

they were one of the first routines on stage and were stoked to be out there, which really showed.

next up was jazz troupe, singing in the rain, complete with umbrellas and raincoats, so cute! they had such a quick change afterwards though that i didn't even manage to get a picture of her in the costume. this was the first time we had seen this routine and it was adorable, especially at the end when they opened out their umbrellas as the song ended.

next up was contemporary, a new one for the girls as they have always been a lyrical troupe. their teacher is extending them to try a slightly new style and its great to see. i loved this dance and you can tell they did too.

madeline and madison were up again later on, with their lyrical duo. they looked so gorgeous in their navy blue outfits! (which i found for just $10 and $15 on marketplace! we were so stoked to not be paying a fortune for all these extra costumes as dancing can be so expensive. turns out the reason we managed to find more than one is that another local dance school had used them as a troupe costume.) the colour suits them both so well.

❤

they danced so well, beautifully in sync and looked gorgeous.

last but not least, was maddie's lyrical solo. i was proud as punch as she danced on stage by herself for the first time and looked beautiful doing it. i just hope she goes well in the competitions as she's got her heart set on it. i love the simplicity of her costume, she insisted that i leave it plain and not add any diamantes and i think she's right, the colour is so lovely on her and she just shone on stage.

i am so glad showcase is over, but it was a wonderful night. the girls danced beautifully!

yw talent night

these little monsters were invited to make a special guest appearance at the young womens talent night this evening dancing their own choreography jazz duo. i thought it was so lovely that elena thought of them and invited them, a little sneak peek of the fun coming in young womens for madeline and another church opportunity for madison haha.

considering they had to condense the size of their routine quite a bit to fit in our relief society room they did so well. the older girls loved it and gave them lots of compliments.

and it's great that they have another chance to practice it in front of an audience as it won't be that long before they are on stage at comps!

i love these two little besties and all the fun (and drama! lol) that comes with them. they are the best fun!

 

april 2021 dance competitions

 

life must go on... and another set of dance comps is done and dusted. when one is part of a troupe that can't perform with a missing person, you show up - and i was so proud of madeline for giving it her all, when she is obviously still hurting, as we all are. oli loved to watch madeline dance and never missed a concert until she got too sick. i know she was watching today.

our girl danced in the 12 years and under lyrical troupe with these other cuties, their outfits are very appropriate for the song choice - here comes the sun.

they received an honourable mention for both sections they competed in, which was pretty darn good, when you consider the competition... they were against huge troupes at the top end of their category age wise. they did great and that's all that matters.

with her bestie madi - or as we like to call them, the madi show.

troupe shot!

and a photo with their jazz troupe. she's just started jazz this year and is loving it. so glad she decided to audition for the group.

we love our little dancing girl. i am constantly blown away by her grace and confidence, neither of wish i was blessed with. you are a superstar miss madeline! 

northam country dance challenge

yesterday we had northam competitions - the country dance challenge. it's the first time i've been to comps other than the morley starlight festival of dance and i have to admit, i wasn't at all thrilled with the outcome. our girls danced in lyrical troupe and jazz troupe, meaning we had to be at the rec centre at 7:30am - but even after our sections were done, we had to wait for awards until the entire morning session was finished, which wasn't until noon. i must say, i'm a much bigger fan of the perth comps where they award the winners after each section! 

the girls were also meant to be dancing at the northam town hall, which i was thrilled to bits about, it is the most beautiful building and they would have loved it! however, last minute changes sent them to the northam recreation centre where they were left dancing on the basketball court with flimsy side set pieces which blew over when the fans were on... which meant they couldn't be on and the building was boiling hot. there was no changing areas as we were told it was too hot to use the gazebos, yet the local schools were given rooms to change in? 

no supplied photographer, yet we weren't allowed to take photos ourselves? ummmm. apparently the photographer was too busy at the first venue (solos, duos etc) to be at both.

the cashless entry (as marked on the front door) would not allow eftpos for entry to watch the dancing, meaning half the mums had to run to get cash and one of our group missed her daughter altogether. there was so many things leading to it being a really disappointing experience.

however. let's put this aside and focus on the reason we were there. the girls were a bit meh about it too when they saw what was going on and had to wait for hours but they love to dance and that's why we do it right? they danced their lyrical troupe...

and then their jazz troupe...

and sat patiently with the other competitors until awards

third place for lyrical troupe...

and an honourable mention for jazz troupe

all for the love of dance... and let's hope they smooth out the kinks before be go back next year!