What happens in 2020 to a dance recital....

 I never thought I would get to see these sweet girls perform their dance recital for 2020.  But thanks to a wonderful studio, Grayslake Dance Connection, I got to experience something truly wonderful.  

The recital was held outdoors, and boy did a lot of people pray for the weather.  It was a cool, cloudy couple of days - something not expected for August 1st.  There was appropriate social distancing, and everyone wore masks - even outside.  But it was so worth it.  

First up was Anna.  She had both a tap dance and a jazz dance.  

It was amazing to watch these young kids, who had only had Zoom classes since March, get up there and dance their hearts out - even wearing masks.  You would never have guessed that they only had one short in person practice before this event.  I was so proud of Anna.

Next Ellie had two dances - a lyrical and a ballet.  Zoom classes have been extra challenging for Ellie but you would never have known it watching her dance.  She has worked so hard and it showed as she came to life with her groups.  

This was Lia's eleventh dance recital.  When you see the pictures below you will understand just how much time and effort Lia puts into dance.  She loves it and you can tell with every routine that she does.  In addition to her "regular" classes (jazz, tap, ballet, lyrical) she is in a special group called Spotlight (tap and jazz) and she also is a student teacher and the student teachers did a jazz dance.  I honestly don't know how she learns and remembers all of these dances.   

Yes, those are Lego bricks!  The Spotlight Performance was all from the Lego Movie.  I was so impressed by all the dancers.  You would never have imagined that the studio could pull off such a great performance during a global pandemic.  There is so much love in that studio.  The teachers, the owner, the student teachers, the dancers and all the families that sacrifice to get their kids involved in dance.  I was thinking back to the very first time I actually came to this dance studio.   I brought Lia to a class when she was three years old.  On that first day I heard a phrase that I have heard over and over.  "Miss Bridget says, "You get what you get, and you don't throw a fit!"   

Well, Miss Bridget (the owner of the dance studio) certainly followed her own advice.  She took a terrible situation of a pandemic with total shut down and somehow managed to continue to teach kids complicated dances.  She has a talented group of teachers who followed her lead and reached out to all of the kids, encouraging them to keep practicing.  And then she managed to pull off an amazing show to allow the families of these dancers to see all that had been accomplished - in spite of 2020.   She rose to the occasion and showed us all that what we got was an incredible show.  Thank you Miss Bridget!  

Grayslake Dance Connection if you want to learn more about this studio, just click the link!

Jesus, thank you for people who love our kids as much as we do.  Thank you for your presence with us all that helps us to weather these trying times during situations that we could never have imagined.  Holy Spirit, continue to give all teachers creative ideas to keep our kids engaged and involved, in spite of social distancing.  Pour out your blessings on Dance Connection, Miss Bridget, and all the teachers as well as all the children and families.  Thank you for good weather and a great event.  Amen