She enjoyed class, and met several friends along the way. I was never overly impressed by the structure of her class, or they enthusiasm their teacher had for teaching them.
But, we stuck with it.
That is, until this day.
We were notified at the last minute that Sassy had a performance at the breakfast with Santa. With an extreme lack of practice, the girls were expected to perform in front of a large crowd of people.
I said I would post the details, but never brought myself to do it. To make a long story short, we showed up and waited. They corralled the girls to one side of the gym and made them sit. Their teacher never came. They sat through performance after performance after performance.
Sassy was hysterical. It was disorganized and chaotic and scary for a little girl. She was so upset, even though I sat with her, and no one tried to comfort her. After an hour and a half of tears and sobbing and runny noses, I was told they would perform in another 45 minutes.
Who on earth makes 3-year-olds show up and sit still and wait for 2 and a half hours?? No one who has children, obviously.
I took Sassy and left the gym to speak to a manager. I explained my dissatisfaction with the organization of the event and questioned why her teacher, the one person she may have felt comfortable with, was not there. I was told that she was soon leaving and had mentally checked out of her job weeks ago. By the manager.
I was livid.
As I went back into the gym, her class was performing... 20 minutes before they were supposed to. In other words, this was the last straw for me.
I pulled her.
It was an interesting experience to go through. It was probably the first time since becoming a mom that I felt my child was wronged. I was so angry and hurt. I was hurt because she was hurt.
I didn't write about it sooner, because I didn't feel like anyone would understand what I felt like. On the surface, it doesn't really seem like that big of a deal. But to me, it was. Because her dance was so important to her. It's what she looked forward to every week. It was something that she had wanted to do for so long. It was something that we were paying a lot of money for. And to be told that the person I entrusted her to every week basically didn't give a crap about her responsibility... ooh, my blood boils still as I think of it.
There are just certain jobs that one should not possess if they do not have it in them to give 110%. In my opinion, dance instructor to 3 and 4 year-olds, to girls who are having their very first dance experiences... well, that should be one if them.
Deep breath, Heather...
Anyway, needless to say, Sassy spent the next 4 weeks hounding me about when she could go to dance class. I kept telling her that dance class was on a break for the holidays, and that Mommy was looking for a new dance class for her to begin.
Meanwhile, Mommy was looking for a new dance class for her to begin...
I called a dozen places, near and far, and kept getting the same response... they would be enrolling again in May.
MAY.
I was so discouraged.
Then, by chance, I saw my friend Renee had enrolled her daughter at a place called Andover Dance Magic. I also knew that my friends Alyssa and Shaila had their daughters enrolled there, but I had figured that enrollment was closed until after the spring concert, just like everywhere else.
Well, Renee gave me a ton of great information, and I called bright and early the next morning and spoke with Tammy, the owner. She sounded wonderful, and I was thrilled to learn that they had ONE SPOT open!
Thank You God!
No more listening to Sassy beg and plead for the return of dance class!
This past Monday was Sassy's first class at her new studio.
This particular studio does not have as regimented a dress code, so Sassy was pretty excited about that. We bought some new pink leotards and warm-up sweatshirts and tutus. Sassy was in three-year-old heaven!
Of course, we had to take the first day of new dance class photos prior to leaving the house...
...Inside...
...and outside...
She even got to put her new dance bag to use:
It felt great to see this look on her face again:
Her first class went fabulous! Despite the 45 minute drive there, she enjoyed every minute of it. Miss Tammy is so patient and they are learning an actual routine! We can't wait for more!
Until then...
