Terpsichore Competition - Calgary

Our second dance competition went well. It was a bit busier because it was smooshed into 3 days instead of 6. The whole family came to this one and we spent our free day in Canmore. It was nice to have family to stay with for this competition and to have Ry there to watch some of the girls dances. Its the 3rd time we are participating in this competition and I didn't really like it this time around. This tends to happen when we do one competition a few times in a row. I just get sick of it I think. I found it a little too commercial and flashy. They really favored dances with lots of acro and tricks in it, and I found a lot of the dances weren't age appropriate. I was just kind of done with the whole thing by the end. I couldn't even enjoy that they were good dancers because all I saw was the skimpy costumes and dances saturated with tricks. Its just not my cup of tea I guess. We do get a really good deal on pictures at this competition though so that's a plus. We had some really good moments too, and the girls danced beautifully as always. McKenna ended up getting first place in her category for her ballet solo, and 1st overall out of all the 9 year old solo's in her division. They also got an outstanding (which is like high gold) on their big ballet group. Her ballet duo also got the choreography award. Hayley's duo went well too. It was a little disconcerting though because all the little one's in their category came out in skimpy costumes and did dance moves that are way beyond their years with facial expressions to match, and in my opinion it just looks silly. Hayley and Ava came out with huge smiles on their faces, Hayley with her two front teeth missing, and danced their little hearts out looking just as 6 and 7 year old's should. I was so proud of them and so grateful that we dance at a studio that is always age appropriate. The other duo's scored better but I could care less. I will always teach my daughters that they should be true to themselves and not do anything to try and get a higher score. Hayley's little group was so excited because they ended up getting 3rd, 2nd, and 1st place for their ballet, jazz, and tap dances (they may have been the only one's in the category but we don't need to tell them that). We had a good time and are actually leaving for our last competition tomorrow. It will be bittersweet to watch them perform their solo, duo's, and trio for the last time.