show business

[Guest happycc]

Hi:

I just wanted to let you know that the end of year recitals/performances are over. We had nine shows in 3 weekends not including the rehearsals and I am barely alive. First weekend was the gymnastics show...both sat and sun at 2;30 and 7;30pm -one day had my daughter and the other day had my son. Following weekend was the little kids dance-for my girls...I had several hours of practice perfecting the ballet bun. I found a great website that showed me how to do one of those buns with the hair nets, and hair pins etc. This weekend my son had a total of 4 numbers. Again sat and sun-one at 2;30 and 7;30pm.

 

For weeks I spent my time shopping for various costume needs-good old Salvation Army saved the day for one of the dances involving period clothing. Rivers Edge Dancewear saved the day with their above the knee socks. I had to buy a pair of jeans that didnt have pockets down the legs and wasn't too baggy. Then we had to do the make up thing as well as buy the hair nets, hair pins etc.

 

I had to hang up all the costumes and place bags around the hook of stuff that belonged to that costume such as socks, shoes, bow ties because I know my son is absent minded, looses things and panics. I could see him running around in his dance briefs looking for his dance socks! We checked and double checked everything. He is a creature of habit and routine.

 

Of course I hung out in the boys room with my son. I think I was the only mom back in the boys room until show time as my son had the most changes among the boys his age. The other boys were teens and could fend for themselves. Nonetheless it felt awkward but my son wanted me there.

By the end of the show his clothes were all over the room from the fast changes. But he did well. He handled the transitions well and there were no tears or fits or anything like that. He seemed to socialize with the boys ok. No major misinterpretations or mishaps.

 

I did notice that after the show walking back to the car he would start flapping his arms and hands-reverting back to the autistic stuff but I think it was just stress relief. His tics were pretty bad and I had a hard time putting on eyeliner because he couldn't stop blinking his eyes.

 

To top things off, two days before the shows my son was bit on the face-upper lip by a black lab of a family friend of ours-neighbors. My son had to receive stitches and such. However the show continued on...my son was a trooper. Poor guy's upper lip was so swollen the first couple of days, he couldn't eat or drink well nor smile. His lip was as big as a nose. He also kept drooling. But the show continued on and he performed splendidly.

 

For future reference, is it ok to cover up stitches with some make up and what kind or any suggestions? I am not hoping we would have any more mishaps but just in case.

 

I am so proud of him. We kept getting compliments for his performance and a few even said it looks like Troy-the oldest male dancer in the school has some competition.....Troy got into Julliard for next year!!!!!!! It is hard to believe a boy from our dance school got into Julliard. Anyways that was a sweet compliment from a teenage dancer. He sent my son off with a hug and a good luck before he flies off in a few weeks. He might be back during Christmas. Perhaps my son would be the Prince....Troy was Prince for 8yrs and they need to go back to the little boy stage again.

 

Tell me is this just a small taste of the insanity.....

I see some of the older teen kids in the dance companies and the amount of numbers they are in --thinking about it makes me pass out.

 

I spent the last three weekends-clapping till my hands hurt and yelling till my voice was sore but it has been worth every minute.

 

Carolyn

[Mel Johnson]

Good news. Actually I can't think of any makeup trick that could camouflage something that was so large that it required stitches. With any luck, you won't have to know this information again, anyway. (I'm really good at camouflaging black eyes, though) Hint: next time you have to act as dresser for boys, make sure that there is another adult present at all times.

[Treefrog]

Wow! sure does sound like a whirlwind of adventure (dog bite included)! It's great that your son did so well. What a compliment to be compared to the older boy!

 

I'll ditto what Major Mel said about the dressing room. Alternatively, is there a male who could help him dress? I know your child needs to adhere to routines and such, so maybe you could find such a person and break both of them in over the next year. I'm just thinking of the reverse situation: I sure wouldn't want a dad in the girls' dressing room helping out his 10-year-old if all the teens were present. And neither would all the teens.

 

This is a bit off-topic, but it relates to dressing 10-year-olds: I recently chaperoned a trip to a climbing gym for the fourth-graders I teach. They needed lots of help putting on and tightening the climbing harnesses (a cinch around waist and each leg). As I found myself repeatedly reaching for buckles poised near the crotch, I was thankful there were so many people around.

[Guest happycc]

Thanks everyone... I never realized that. No one at the dance studio mentioned it. There were adults there though. There are a few men performers and the teen that is going to julliard is 18yrs old. Does that count? There is a separate bathroom area where most of the boys change but I see teenage girls hanging out in the boys room too and eating lunch and chatting with the teen boys.

[Guest happycc]

I did get an older teenage girl to kind of watch over him as well as Troy. But they had their own dances and numbers to worry about. Luckily there were a few boys around that handed him the clothes he needed. I think they were well aware that he kind of needed some help.I was only there until the show started and then I was outside and watched the performance.

 

One little boy wanted to see his dance belt as he was curious as to why Brandon had to take off his undies. My son said the boy thought the dance belt/brief by Baltog looked like a diaper!!! Too cute!

 

 

Funny as it seems, I would have a problem if there was a dad in the girls changing room but I wouldnt be upset if there was a mom in the boy's changing room. Double standard huh? In fact, I wished a mom could be back there the whole time. Making sure the kids weren;'t goofing around and getting distracted with horseplay or video games.