Willow's Burton performing arts program got her back into dancing. Last year she had a taste of recreation dance classes but decided she wanted to be part of the studio's competitive teams this year. She auditioned for a few teams and made them all, but her mama made her pick 2 teams to start with. That ended up being 3 dances in each competition, plus she remained in a weekly rec class for jazz/contemporary. Believe me, she got in plenty of dancing, especially after you add in 3 rec classes that she student taught!
We had fun "girls weekends" when we traveled to the competitions. Gramma joined us for the first one and Nana traveled to all 3 that were out of town. Both were able to be at her home competition in addition to Chris, Owen, and the grandpas. We didn't know exactly what to expect. It wasn't as crazy as I'd imagined based off TV but it is quite the experience to walk into a massive dressing room full of girls and their bags, most of them rushing to switch outfits and hair to get ready for their next performance. I was thankful we started off with 2 teams!
The first competition was "Turn it Up" in North Carolina:
Next was Showstoppers in Richmond. I was glad to be able to visit with Morgan a few times while we were in town! We also had time to attend service at our previous church where we attended for 8 years, which felt like a sweet reunion with genuine friends. We even did some dress shopping and got her prom and ensemble banquet dresses (and Nana later purchased her 3rd favorite dress as a birthday gift!):
Willow was matched up with Emerson as her "Little Sister" for the season. We know her and her family through church. It was the first year for both of them and fun to see them support each other at the competitions.
The parking garage at our hotel was a tight squeeze!!
She dances in all weather! We did drive through snow and took an alternate route home to avoid snow on the larger mountain passes.
The 3rd competition and our first convention was in Arlington (DC area). The convention (aka classes) kept her pretty busy during the day, which gave Nana and I time to work on a photo book for her sister's 80th birthday.
The view from our hotel room!
The judging for scholarships at the convention was pretty uncomfortable to watch. I was grateful she didn't grow up doing this!
The last competition was in town and THANKFULLY didn't interfere with her being part of her last Burton production of Hadestown. She didn't have to miss any of the 4 shows!
She's the one on the right. The professional pictures don't always include her since it's a large group and they focus on the middle and she stays to the right side most of this dance. It's also hard to follow her since they all look identical!
They had an Ensemble banquet at the end of the season. She was recognized for participating, being a student teacher, and for "Incredible Improvement!"She'll miss Rachel! She was a hard worker in class and her "go to" friend at the competitions. Her mom was super kind as well!
Here are links to her 3 dances:
