My dance recital was last Fri. night and I swear, it was my best ever! As this was the last year my school would be in business, it was truly a fitting ending.

My first dance was "We Both Reached For The Gun," a Jazz dance done w/a class. It definitely wasn't one of my favorite dances but any excuse to be on stage is okay w/me. We were supposed to be puppets at the beginning of the dance so I had to sit on my partners lap and I was bent head down. They started our music wrong so I had to be bent down more than usual. I was starting to get a head rush! LOL Boy was I glad when the right part of our music started! I made a mistake or 2 but no one noticed. At least no one said they did. They applauded when we did our Wings. I think they are called Wings. At the end of the dance we had some poppers from the dollar store. You had to turn it to the end and out popped confetti. We were going for the gun and aiming it at the audience. Mine didn't work! I turned it and turned it and it didn't move! One of the other girls in the dance did mine backstage and it worked. I guess I'm not strong enough and I'm the one who opens all the jars at home! Since the dance was right before intermission, we had to sweep the stage and the front of the stage near the audience. I wore an old fashioned hat that had a piece of paper in the brim that said "Press" and a white short sleeved button down shirt and black pants. I wore my black character shoes. We were also the press. I had the hat bobby pinned to my hair since it was to big on me and I was afraid it would fall off during the dance. I'm glad it didn't.

My next dance was a song I picked called "It's Love" by The Rascals. It's a 60's number and I love that song so much! When I told my teacher I had a tambourine, she freaked out! She loves props. I love playing the tambourine anyway and bought it when Davy Jones of the Monkees played the tambourine. It looks brand new. I totally got to play it. My costume was a green top w/tons of fringe & straps. I loved it! Man, did that fringe move! I wore black pants that I designed with stamps and glitter words like I Love Dance and Jazz, Ballet and Dance. On the front it said Super * in silver, with a huge star. Some of the paint was supposed to glow in the dark but I don't think it did. I looked like I was from the 60's, just like my song. People said at dress rehearsal that my song was so me! I agree.

When I got on stage to put my tambourine where it was supposed to go, the audience was screaming and applauding! I swear, I wondered who else was on stage w/me, like maybe Justin Beaber or Paul McCartney or any other big rocker. I thought they had walked out after me and I didn't see them. In the audience to see me was my mom, my middle sister and my dance teachers mom who used to be my teacher. My youngest sister and my niece were in NY seeing a ballet and my nephew was at home w/my dad. No way they were making all that noise. I loved it! It was amazing! I actually did a split in my dance or as close to a split that I am going to ever get for now. I was almost down all the way on the floor and at 57, wow, that is pretty good! The audience loved it! They were going wild! It was amazing hearing all that! It was almost drowning out my music! Now I can honestly say I know how a rocker feels on stage. I made a mistake but only my dance teacher and I know where that was. That's the good thing about being a solo. Unless you just stop during the dance then people know you forgot your dance. I have never done that.

I totally love being on stage. That's why I did the first dance. Even though I didn't like the song, I loved being in 2 dances and being on stage again, even if I didn't like the song. Being that this was the last time I was going to dance w/this school, I gave my dance everything I had. I usually do that anyway, even in class, but this year was a lot different. The end of my dance was something I can't believe I can still do. I learned this move from another teen when I was a teen in the 60's. She was a year or 2 older than I was and she taught me this dance move. I've been doing it ever since. I'll try to explain it. I faced the left side of the stage and got down on my knees, bending them and putting the bottom of my legs and feet behind me. Then I bend all the way back and I am bent all the way to the floor. To further impress them, I stay down there for about 20 seconds or so and then get back up. The audience was screaming! I'm sure some of them were wondering where I went! LOL I am always being told at my height people can't see me! I got back up & did a very fancy ending so I could stretch it out for as long as I could. I also wanted the screaming and applause to last a long time too. I didn't want to leave!

When we all came on stage for the finale (at 4'6" I get to be in front before the baby class comes out so they are in front of me) it was hard not to cry. I have been singing that song "This is the end of our show, that's all the dancing tonight, etc." since 1974. One year, when my dance teacher's mom went in w/another teacher for the year, we sang "It's A Small World". After a while I hated that song because I sang it for so long. Not that night. I sang that song and did the motions for all it was worth! I didn't want to think that would be the last time I would ever sing that song, even though I knew it would be. I knew I wouldn't be saying "See you next year" to everyone because I wouldn't be. It was so hard to do, but I did it!

I am usually a backstage helper every year but even though I was signed up, they didn't seem to need me this year. That's why I was so surprised when I got a carnation w/babies breath for being a helper! I had no clue! That was so nice of her to do that.

On the way out trying to find my family, a few people stopped me and told me what a good job I did. One senior guy thought I was 30 years old when I asked him how old he thought I was. I loved that guy! LOL All in all it was an amazing night. I am hoping to find a new teacher who is as good as all my teachers combined.

I hope all of your recitals were as good as mine were.

I'm thrilled that your recital was such a success, although sadden that it will be the last. I know how that feels. I was once part of an amazing dance school that had to close down unexpectedly because of personal issues in the owner's life. She sold the school to a woman who runs a most horrifying dance school and for a while, we had no "home" to go to any longer. I hope your search for a new outstanding instructor is far easier than it was for me. I wish you the best

Aww congratulations on such a successful recital, really pleased for you it's such a good feeling when it all goes as you want it to isn't it!
Sounds like you had an amazing time too which makes it all the more special and definately a night to remember, the support you received sounds fantastic too
Good luck with your search for a new teacher!
Love Bekii xxxx

Thank you both of you. It was really a lot of fun. I think it helps that my teacher loves whatever song I pick out and so did her mom. I am a child of the 60's and think that a lot of the best songs are from that era, not to mention how much I love Rick Springfield's music. I've done all the Rick Springfield songs I can but there is a ton of 60's music I can still dance too. I even knew that next year I wanted to dance to Paul Revere & The Raiders but I hadn't picked out the song yet. Last year I met Mark Lindsay, the lead singer of The Raiders and I danced to him and his music while he performed on stage for an hour for 2 shows a day at The Big E. That's when I knew I wanted to dance to their songs. That was before I knew we would be closing up.

I hope I can find another good school to go to. A lot of schools in my town are horrible! I'm looking though. I'll let everyone know if I find something.

Aww well good luck with it all!
Our town is a bit like that, some horrible schools so we travel outside the city to ours Luckily it's still not that far away only about half an hour or so
All the best!
Love Bekii xxxx