Cadence Dance Project dance recitals are a really over-the-top big deal. They have a photo day about two weeks before, when all the dancers have to put on full makeup (which includes fake eyelashes except for the littlest dancers) and pose for photos in all their costumes. Ever was in three numbers and had to be there for hours. I was super anti all the recital madness and thought it was totally ridiculous (Jon Benet much?), but Anna held my hand and helped me with hair and makeup. On photo day, Anna and I got the littles ready at her house.
Ever, Leela, Grace Spengler, and Hollis Holder got ready at Hollis's house. Hollis's mom, Sarah, is a professional hair and makeup person, so she did all the makeup.
Of course I didn't pay for any of the photos, but I took some of the girls outside. This is Ever's hip hop class. She's in the back in the middle throwing the peace sign.
Ever, Leela, Hollis, and Grace:
I took the littles home and fed them dinner. Ever had to stay at the studio. Wrenzy added some interesting accessories and enjoyed lots of fruits and salad.
Two weeks later was dress rehearsal (Thursday) and recital (Friday and Saturday). We weren't allowed to film at the recital, so I caught Ever's tap dance and and the littles' number at the dress rehearsal. No footage of Ever's ballet and hip hop numbers. Ever and Leela come out first in this one:
Wrenzy is middle left, and Tiny is middle right:
Dress rehearsal night was long for Ever and Leela, and they scarfed Subway backstage. (Ask me how mortified I was to order a foot-long sandwich with only lettuce for Leela. No meat. Just lettuce. She's SO picky.)
Because of COVID, Cadence broke the recital down into a number of smaller performances. The older girls performed some of their numbers in multiple shows; Tiny and Wrenzy, I believe, danced twice. It was a complicated schedule and quite the experience for the girls (like Ever and Leela) in lots of numbers and shows. Ever and Leela performed Friday night, so we had to get them ready all over again the day after dress rehearsal.
Cadence Zoomed the recital, so the littles watched Ever Friday from home.
Saturday I helped backstage during the littles' show. The girls in their class were not easy. One kept slobbering off her lipstick and asking for her mom. Lined up and ready to go on:
Tiny was hilarious. There's a part where they're supposed to bend over and brush off a shoe a few times. Tiny stayed down there and kept brushing for what seemed like minutes while everyone else moved on and continued with the dance. We were dying. It was the best.
So I survived my first - and possibly only - Cadence dance recital. Wrenzy and Ever ended up quitting later, before the next recital, so Tiny followed suit. It seems weird that our dance days are over; Ever was so into it for a long while. But by the end, I had turned on Cadence - the attire worn to classes and the posey/social media-inspired culture - and didn't really want my girls exposed to the influence there. It's a rampant problem in the dance world, and probably all studios around here are pretty much the same. If we ever go back, though, I'd want to try a different studio.
