Do you Dance?

I wish I had learned how to dance when I was a little girl. It was never part of my world. There were no dance studios for learning classical dance in the area where I lived, and even if there had been any, my parents would never have been able to afford it. When I was growing up, dancing was limited to a ballroom dance class you took when you were 14. The class was intended to give you an intro to couple dancing, so you would know how to waltz at your wedding. Other than that, you went to the Disko (dance club) on weekends and moved to the beats as best as you could. Hmm, I am glad there are no videos of me doing that. Since I lived in the German countryside, the nearest Disko was about an hour's drive away. It was called Revolution Number 9. Oh boy, did I get in trouble with my dad for sneaking out for an evening of dancing when I was 16...

I am definitely having a blast sending my girl to classical dance classes and watching her grow as a dancer. It is hard to believe that she has been dancing for 10 years. I am so very proud of her for being promoted to start Pointe this summer. She has worked so very hard all these years. It's tough going when one is not naturally gifted with a flexible body. I am sorry, baby! I wish I could have passed down that gene to you. I think, generally, Germans are stiff people and more suited to marching.

Three years ago I did take a dance class with some friends. It was a lot of fun but unfortunately I didn't last past my first recital. I mean, I am really glad I tried it. It took a lot of guts to get up on that stage and dance with the youngsters. I am definitely not blessed with that talent, and when you are older it's an even greater challenge...

Maybe down the road I'll try again. I saw this pair of red tap shoes in this year's recital. They really seemed to be calling to me: You need to dance again...We shall see. Have you ever tried dancing?

Other than that, it's been a rather slow start to the summer. We had to wait to plant our garden since it kept raining over here. We have enjoyed having fresh lettuce from the garden that we planted earlier in the spring. I hope you are enjoying the sun and time with your family - maybe even a trip somewhere nice?