Dancing Feet

Little LadyBug has not always been a dancer. She started off ice skating. When we moved from New England, where there is a rink on every corner, to here, where the only rink is an hour away, she decided to try ballet and jazz.

Last March I signed her up for class and figured I'd see if she liked it. I should have known! Her teacher came out after class the first night and said she wanted to speak with me. My first thought was "Great, she's not cut out for this and the teacher wants her to take her klutzy self out of her class..." I was incorrect. The teacher was thrilled with Little LadyBug's ability to pick up the steps and told me she was very good. I thought the teacher was just being nice.

A couple of weeks ago, Little LadyBug came out of ballet and I asked her if she had done any pointe work in class. (I wanted to know if the $$ pointe shoes were being used.) She was almost breathless when she said, "Oh, Mummy, I am learning how to bouree (or some other French term I don't know)." I said, "Um, don't you do those in the center away from the barre?" She said, "Mum, I have been in the center since November". "Oh..." (I'm so in-tune with what she's doing - NOT!)

Then this happened:

Last night, Little LadyBug's jazz teacher asked me if I'd like to see what she was working on. I said, "umm okay." The music started and Little LadyBug began to dance. All I could do was watch in amazement and say "Wow!" Little LadyBug was graceful, yet powerful. She held her arms and hands exactly as they should have been. Her toes were pointed and her back was straight. She smiled -- she was having fun. She turned. She leapt. She didn't crash into walls! She didn't fall down. She basically blew my socks off. She was good!

We got into the car to go home and she asked me if I liked her dance. I told her I thought her dance was terrific. Then I saw the little grin... She knew she was good...

Does athletic ability skip generations? It must...