My daughter, the inimitable Anna (pictured above with 2 friends of her 6-member dance team), had her first dance competition over the weekend. She looked resplendent in her costumes and make-up, and danced brilliantly - her whole team did. But I did wonder, as I watched the spectacle, if it's not just beauty pageantry disguised as sport. After all, there is no dancing in the Olympics. Is it really sporty, or just for show?
Anna can do backflips, lift her leg higher than I thought gravity would allow, splits are easy and she's lifted up high by her comrades. It looks athletic, but the make-up, hair and glitter make me wonder if there is a point to it all.
I was discussing this with another mom, who understood exactly what I meant. Her son competes in gymnastics, and it all does seem much more legitimate, even though they also pay to compete and travel on Sundays to do it, commiting the heathen act of skipping church for gold medals.
We concluded that dance is giving our girls confidence, team skills, and individual growth. Is it enough? I hope so for now.
Anna can do backflips, lift her leg higher than I thought gravity would allow, splits are easy and she's lifted up high by her comrades. It looks athletic, but the make-up, hair and glitter make me wonder if there is a point to it all.
I was discussing this with another mom, who understood exactly what I meant. Her son competes in gymnastics, and it all does seem much more legitimate, even though they also pay to compete and travel on Sundays to do it, commiting the heathen act of skipping church for gold medals.
We concluded that dance is giving our girls confidence, team skills, and individual growth. Is it enough? I hope so for now.
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2 comments:
Yes, even with the glitz, it's a good thing. Try to keep in mind that the most important thing is that she's MOVING! Dance, gymnastics, soccer, running around the back yard - those kids are used to moving around, not being couch potatoes. We try to balance the kids' activities, but insist they each have a physical activity of some type 3 to 4 times a week, so when they get older, fitting that hour of exercise into their daily schedules won't be the struggle it is for us!
They are awfully cute ; )
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