I shouldn’t have been surprised when my 3 year old asked for ballet lessons.
I was also 3 when I begged my mom to let me take ballet. Back in Phoenix in the 1970s, the only studio in town didn’t start kids until they were 5. But I was so eager to begin that my mom offered to join the class in full dance attire as the “teacher assistant” so she could keep an eye on me.
The studio owner/teacher agreed, and I danced my way through my childhood, adolescence, and eventually into a 10 year professional performing career after college in New York City.
When I asked my daughter what classes she wanted to take this summer and she said “ballet,” I felt a hiccup of emotion. For all of the joy I have derived from dance, anyone would have thought I’d be ecstatic to learn my daughter wanted to take lessons. And itwasexciting.
But it’s complicated.
Read the complete article at SadieJane.com.
