*NOTE: This is a cheesefest and it's bloody long.
Way back in high school I couldn't wait to graduate, leave home and free myself from my family. #typical
And while I still whine about my family, and demand a break, I legit love family time, which has grown to also include the Dance Pac family.
Dance studios are an interesting dynamic at the competitive level. The students spend upwards of 20hrs together weekly, the parents workout daily carpools, and during competition season, entire families will travel to cheer on and support the studio. We have been enjoying this routine for a solid 10 years now - the length of time my brother has been competitively dancing.
But the Dance Pac can't fairly be described as just a studio, and this was clear at our last competition. A few days before we all took off in our minivans for Blue Mountain, the entire prop truck with all the props was stolen from the studio. News reached each family through a chain of calls by the end of the night. But by morning the anxiety lessened when the "Prop Dads" came together to rebuild each prop with every resource they could scrounge. In 2 days the props were complete and were rushed to Collingwood even better than the originals.
Listen, I love going to competitions. Who would turn down a sunny and shopping filled trip to New York, Myrtle Beach or even Blue Mountain?
But beyond the good food, tanning and shopping; supporting my brother and the girls has always been important to me, and this competition in particular required all the encouragement and support we could give. In the end our studio did wonderfully, we certainly had the most spirit and the Prop Dads were even recognized for their effort and atypically awarded the Fever Award (normally goes to a studio owner or highly influential teacher). In particular our dance "The Tide", choreographed by Nicole Marsh, won the Intermediate Dance Off Championship which I recorded with little success (see below). Ps. This is my mom and sister screaming...I think?
I'm not sure if it was the fact that this was their last competition of the season, the tough competition, or the unfortunate events prior that led them to dance with so much conviction and passion, but they danced beautifully. The video hasn't been posted yet, but here's the dance at a previous competition.
Also had to include this cute picture of the mom's trying to do what their kids can do better.
