No Place Like Home

Anyone who says sunshine brings happiness has never danced in the rain.-Author unknown


I'm so excited to do today's blog, I do not even know where to begin... but as I look up, I read the wall hanging above my computer which reads...   "HOME is where your story begins."

Here is a little card I crafted for BRENDA in honor of her BSOBAD
dance shows yesterday entitled  "NO PLACE LIKE HOME"
The photo on the card was taken of some little dancers on picture day at the studio
 in the beginning of May. Mariah is 3rd from the left in the picture.

This picture was an "AH HA moment" as OPRAH would say... for me!
I love how the circle of life continues and as I watch my daughter apply make up on her daughter for her first TAP dance ever... it almost brought a tear to my eye as I took a quick little stroll down memory lane to when I was putting on Jana's lipstick at a dance recital when she was small.

Jana and Mariah just before show time in the afternoon after all the final touches have been made to hair and make up!... AHHHHHH another proud moment for me!

Another moment of pride as I gave the next generation of dancers in my family a little hug before she would perform her first ever tap routine on stage... co-incidentally entitled
"I LOVE YOU"
I want to give a shout out to MISS CARA and MISS AMBER, her teachers, for doing such an amazing job of setting such a good example for little ones to look up to!
These years are so important in a dancer's journey.

Me with BRENDA on my way through backstage to my seat in the audience  at the afternoon show.  Brenda and I share so many cherished memories together...
really enough for a WHOLE blog all of it's own!!!

Mariah with her PROUD POPPA BRIAN and her  PROUD DADDY, too!
Now holding the PINK rose in exchange for the original red one... thanks to one of the other dance mom's for making a trade!
I got red thinking it matched the costume,... hehehe but what was I thinking?

Some of the staff just minutes before the evening show. I was unable to round up everyone for this photo... hope they finally got one with all of them in it!!!
I was on my way out to watch from the audience at this point.
I loved how the TEACHER Routine opened the show in both performances and showcased each of the teacher's specialties written on their shirts!!!
They danced to the Lady GaGa song... "BORN THIS WAY"
One teacher missing was AMBER who was expecting a baby on MAY 22nd, and had a baby girl yesterday just minutes before the afternoon show ended!...
How cool was that?... she "danced" in making her debut on dance sow day!
BRENDA was able to announce it on stage at the end of the show.

Another attempt at a staff photo... still not everyone is here!!! This was following the evening show...and some were already gathering up their stuff and or kids... etc...
so we just got who was there at that moment.
Brenda looked like a movie star...
(as she often does) right centre front in her stunning evening gown!

Another cherished moment for me yesterday was a chance to snap a pic with some of the gals I once taught... ANA and ALI on the left(who are both still dancing) were giving LEAH on my right
(who came to watch the show), a hard time about not getting the memo about wearing polka dots!!! 

At the after party at Brenda's house, I captured many more memories but will hang those ones on the studio bulletin boards for everyone to enjoy... but I just loved the cake on her table... so fitting with the RAINBOW which was a prominent part of the day's performance yesterday
as the production, which was an abstract version of the WIZARD OF OZ
started with the song "Some where Over The Rainbow"
 so beautifully sung by a dancer with a great voice.
It was pouring rain outside by the evening, too, but yesterday's rainbow had many silver linings on it!

My gift, flowers, staff photo, and show program with 22 pages of achievements and studio events from the year's accomplishments along with some photos and program order for the 2 shows!
The program itself is a work of art!

There is something so magical about the end of a season at a dance studio... and yesterday was no exception to that rule!  Even though I retired from my teaching in May of 2008 at BSOBAD, I have been fairly involved in other ways in and around the studio.  My most proud way of course  is as  the role of GRAMMiE D to my dear sweet grandaughter, Mariah, who performed her first ever TAP number in yesterday's BSOBAD afternoon show. It did take me back a few years to when Jana was little and dancing, too... oh such fond memories those are!


BRENDA of "Brenda's School Of Baton And Dance"... otherwise known as BSOBAD, is the mastermind behind this year's accomplishments. She is so very lucky to have a STELLAR STAFF who all do a great job of helping in all their specialized areas of expertise which makes for a wonderful end result. 


She has so many students that her afternoon show showcases the tot program and little dancers in their early phases, while the evening's performance showcases the competitive more seasoned dancers. Both very enjoyable shows!


This was Brenda's 28th dance season... and I closed my DIANE WILL DANCE STUDIO following my 28th season... so this brought to mind memories of that season for me. I then joined her team at BSOBAD... and we all become one big happy tappy family!


Just browsing through the program in more depth today, I marvel at all the accomplishments the studio has gone through this season from ballet, tap, and jazz dance exams, to dance and baton competitions, along with a couple of fund raiser events... 2 of those being shows as well in addition to the 2 shows yesterday. WOW!


The fund raising was for the studio to take 3 teachers and 53 dancers to compete in a dance competition in Chicago this July. Brenda will also take her baton twirlers to compete in the nationals this year held in Manitoba in the summer as well.


For me, when the year end show was done... so was my season! ... OH... but not for BRENDA!
I wish them so much luck as they get all geared up for the next events to come!


So needless to say yesterday was on going fun and excitement from the 9 AM rehearsal  in the morning for the afternoon show, then the show and then the evening show followed by the party... where the dancers who came to that went right into watching the video of the show once again! 


OH the memories... once a DANCE ENTHUSIAST... always a dance enthusiast! 


I was ever so delighted to sit on the other side of the curtain though, now... my "TEACHING" chapter is closed and my "GRAMMIE D" chapter is only beginning! ... I see a great future for that one as well... so many more "AH HA MOMENTS" to come!


I have been honored to have some of my poems in the BSOBAD year end programs for the last few years, too... and here is the one for this year's theme... "NO PLACE LIKE HOME"


It's fun to go out... and also to roam...
Although in the end, there's 
NO PLACE LIKE HOME!
But for the dancers, 
the studio is just a great place,
To see all their friends and be in a good space.
To them it is "HOME away from HOME", too...
They love their dance friends and all that they do.
The friends create memories second to none,
The times spent with them are always such fun.
There's NO PLACE LIKE HOME,
and what comfort it brings,
It's warm and it's cozy, among other things!
When the HOME we love best 
is a place where we dance,
It's a great kind of HOME, and not just by chance!
The people we dance with 
are just the best friends,
They're like second family 
where the joy never ends...
The memories we build 
throughout the whole year,
Remind us of comforts of HOME held so dear!


... and on that note I want to add that I have become a real "HOME BODY" since my retirement from teaching. I must say I enjoyed that especially in the cold winter months when I could be warm and cozy  in the comfort of my home, and didn't have to go out and start a cold car after hours of teaching dance!


Congrats to BRENDA and her awesome staff and students along with their supportive parents for TAPPING into another year of AMAZING success at BSOBAD!  Many more cherished memories were made!