she could have danced all night…

this child was waiting—rather impatiently—for the day she could finally be on a stage. and dance. that’s just the kind of kid she is—no problem with the spotlight, this one.

pre-mandatory garish red lips. when she still had some semblance of a little girl ;)

that’s not to say she’s never nervous--when we went to the dress rehearsal she was. i tried to explain what was going to happen to her—but i think the brain of a 4 year old just couldn’t quite process it.

Stage Makeup: freaking out fathers everywhere since the dawn of time.

so when the teenaged “helpers” led her away to go backstage i ran out to the auditorium pretty unsure of what i was going to see. was she going to freeze up in the lights of the stage?

no way dudes.

she absolutely. loved. it. and when i reminded her that this was just ‘practice’—that in 2 weeks mom-mom and pop and other mom-mom and mommy and daddy and her sisters and brother and aunt kate were ALLLLL coming to see her dance on the stage…oh yeah. good stuff.

the night of the recital i waited with her until the show started and the moms went to sit.
“are you nervous, gigi?”
she turned those giant blue eyeballs on me. “why would i be nervous?”
like it was the most foreign concept. who would be nervous about dancing on a stage in front of a couple hundred people? this is the stuff dreams are made of.

shakin’ that tail feather (they danced to Rockin’ Robin)

i’m fairly certain photographing a lit stage from a dark auditorium is a special kind of photography magic i just don’t have. blurry pics aside, i think you can tell just how much she loved it.

one last kiss for the audience

post-recital review with another dancer ;)

and the clincher? the preschool classes do their dance and then their tumbles. she’s struggled with the tumbling all year. and the night of the recital? sister brought the house down.
for your enjoyment: a small video. you’ll know which one is gigi. (or maybe you won’t…she’s the one right in the center of the screen)

gigi tumbles from Shannon Kline on Vimeo.