I will be hearing loud dance music and helping bun hair in my dreams tonight. If not, I�ll be doing it again tomorrow anyway. Yes, folks, it is dance recital weekend. Most people assume that you go to a dance recital once and are done with it. But one dance recital is for younger children who are less serious about dance. Day�s studio uses its older, more experienced dancers in every one of its dance recitals. It�s good advertisement for the program.

Being in every show was not quite as bad a few years ago when there were two dance recitals. But the studio has grown and now there are three dance recitals over two days. Plus the rehearsals, of course, which are on additional days.

This year there were three rehearsals we attended. One on Thursday for Day�s hip-hop class and two on Friday, one for the class she is an assistant for (although she was there to help, not to dance) and one long one that did not end until almost ten o�clock for ballet, lyrical, and jazz. Because she is in a performance class, the standards are higher and figuring out exact placement on stage is a higher priority than for younger classes so the rehearsals are longer.

Today was a two-show day. I was in the balcony at the early show because Day�s kiddies from the class she works with were only in the early show. They are very talented and I see why the studio head wants to bump them up a class level. I do hope their mothers know what they are about to get into----multiple shows.

The second show as my backstage-mother show. Now that the girls are at a senior level, they only need one backstage parent. The job is no longer as hard as it once was. The girls generally manage their own multiple costumes changes, hair changes (ponytail to bun to only the top hair back to whatever), and makeup. Still, they need a backstage mother for times of emergency or, more commonly, moments of panic over lost ballet slippers or a torn costume. Even so, it means being cooped up backstage all afternoon and today was a nice afternoon. We have not had many of those.

Tomorrow will be round three in which I take Mr. Philately and Kat to the real show. (Actually, Mr. Philately came to the noon show today to see Day�s kiddies. I hope she knows just how much Mr. Philately must love her to sit through five hours of dance over two weekend days.)

Hearing music? Bunning hair? Heck, I�ll be dancing in my sleep.

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