Expecting the Unexpected

Jordan likes ballet. It would be a barefaced lie if I said I didn't have anything to do with it. I've showed her ballet video and also showed her how pirouettes and curtsies are done. I have made it a point to show her ballet classes rather than just performances because in my book, it is a cruel delusion for little girls to think that ballet is all about pretty tutus. The problem is the pretty tutus and the languid movements seem to appeal to Jordan's inate girlness.

I had originally thought that her interest in dance was an interest in dance rather than an interest in ballet. But evidently it didn't. We signed both twins up for a parent-child dance workshop. I guess because ballet is such a specific artform, the dance workshop was more a hip hop thing.

Jordan took one look at it and declared it wasn't ballet despite there being other little girls in ballet inspired clothes. Evan spent most of his time clinging onto my leg or running round the studio. Both kids were embarrassingly disruptive. Packrat thinks that they aren't old enough. I pointed out that there were children who were younger that were following the instructions of the many teachers in the room.

My suspicion is that
a) it didn't really appeal to Jordan and Evan basically hates any type of new experience.
b) the twins just egg one another on. If one is running amok, the other follows.

This makes me wonder if I should put them in separate classes from next year on! (But that is a different story for a different time)

Anyway, $52 later (4 tickets at $13 each!) we walk up a little humphy. I hope at that point that for Jordan it really was a matter of it being the wrong dance form.

Thankfully, I was right. We were given tickets to a Dance Appreciation Series that was after lunch where the Singapore Dance Theatre was going to present excerpts of the Sleeping Beauty. The theatre, the curtains, the lights going out all floored her and this was before the performance began.

Knowledgeably, she tells me the Princess' name is Aurora and was thrilled when it was confirmed by the Artistic Director who was explaining things. She gave an audible gasp when the 6 fairies and their consorts appeared on stage and was riveted.

















It was a good series because only 3 excerpts were shown and it was broken up so the children didn't really have to concentrate for long periods of time. And the Artistic Director taught the children little things like the pantomime bits which Jordan actually got.

We left towards the end because that's when she got antsy but for her to have lasted the 45 minutes out of the hour, I was quite impressed. I was also impressed that she could mime to her father and whoever else she could find as her captive audience the words "baby", "die", "prince" and "handsome". And she could mime how the fairy picked up the baby princess and give it to the King.

She was also obviously very taken by the pirouettes that the dancers executed and made me record her own version of the fouette pirouettes.



When I asked her if she wanted to to learn ballet, she said she did. When she ate more food and had grown bigger. She also clarified that she didn't want to do 'the other dance class'. Just ballet.

She is her mother's daughter. I had no interest in any other dance form apart from ballet. But it might also be a princess thing. I'm not sure which one it is. Only time will tell.

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