Rebecca Performs at Regional 1 Dance Competition
Yesterday, Rebecca performed with the Taylor High School Pacesetters at their first dance competition of the season. The dancer’s roll call was 6:30am before getting on the bus and heading to Klein Oak High School. The girls only performed three numbers but didn’t get home till after midnight. Lisa and I were disappointed that this apparent inefficiency is acceptable and normal. Once we paid admission, however, Lisa and I came to a higher understanding. Let’s just say, “our eyes were opened.”
Lisa and I drove up just in time for their first dance number at 2:45pm. We walked in, paid for our wrist bands and were swallowed by a throng of people. The Commons area was filled with colonies of girls, each distinguishable only by the outfit and war paint. There were gaggles of mom groupies and plenty of lost dads. There were a dozen booths selling dance attire, hair bows, jewelry, scarves, and sugary snacks. Many teams staked out floor space to rehearse routines as though they were going to war, each blaring their own anthem from boomboxes, while some where led militantly by a leader yelling, “5-6-7-8…” It was estrogenic-sensory overload. Lisa yelled in my ear in a flat sarcastic tone, “Welcome to the world of dance competition!”
The Pacesetters performed to a cover of Charlie Chaplin’s, “Smile.” Rebecca reported that it was originally choreographed to address teenage bullying, but ended up being a memorial to one of the girl’s late father. The performance was emotional and beautiful. See the video below.
Since the next dance wasn’t until 5pm, we seized the opportunity to disappear. I set my GPS to the nearest sports bar to decompress. We returned to see the second dance, “Spider,” a little number which has Rebecca playing the part of a butterfly who eventually is caught by a clutter of hungry spiders. See the video below.
Since we had another long wait until the last performance (8pm), we joined some other dance parents (is that what we are called?) for dinner.
The last number is simply called, “Clown.” I think it should be called, “Spooky Clown Queen.” I’d love to offer an interpretation of this little diddy, but I don’t have a clue. Suggestions are welcome. See the video below.
I’m really not sure of the competition results since they are not posted, but Rebecca said they were awarded 4th place overall.
Comments are closed.