i went through a tomboy phase as a child.  my gradeschool years were spent playing lots of sports and avoiding dresses at all costs.  however, before i started soccer at the age of 7, i did ballet.  i loved ballet class, and i’m told i was pretty good (you know, for a 6 year old).  that’s me in the middle, smiling for the camera (circa 1988):

and playing games before it was time for my recital (it was my first time wearing makeup, i felt SO special):

i still get pretty excited about all things ballet.  and i’m not gonna lie, when we found out that em was going to be a girl, i believe one of my first thoughts was, “i can’t wait for her to be old enough for ballet class!”  it helps that she ended up loving ballet all on her own (my mom also took ballet in college and has been teaching her the five positions when she watches her on thursdays).

the magic age is three and she turned three in may, so i could finally sign her up for the pre-ballet/pre-tap summer session at a studio near our house.  last weekend, my mother-in-law and i took her to the dance store and got her real ballet and tap shoes, and a leotard.  i made her a shoe bag from dana’s hobo sack tutorial, because you can’t wear your dance shoes outside!

the shoe bag has a boxed bottom, so it stands up on its own and is the perfect size for both pairs of shoes.  the fabric is kinkame shades gradient cotton from fabric depot, with satin ribbon ties (like toe shoes!).  i added a little green ribbon tag to make it look “professional.”  🙂

her first class was this morning.  em did SO well during the class!  she wasn’t scared or nervous, she smiled often, she listened to the teacher, and did really well following the motions.  she actually added extra little ballerina touches to her moves (touching her fingertips together and going up on tiptoe whenever possible).  this was her first class of any kind, and it was really neat to see that she was totally ready to handle it all by herself.  the parents stayed on the other side of a one-way mirror, so she couldn’t even see me for reassurance.  i was so proud of my little girl!

oh also, if it’s not evident from the photos…my heart burst from cuteness.  watching eight tiny three-year-old girls do ballet and tap is pretty much the most adorable thing in the world.