What Ballet has Taught Me (a.k.a. Confessions of a Ballet Dad)

Here I sit; A man. To me, ballet has never really meant that much. I'm not saying that it has been the last thing I would ever want to be involved in. It's just not the first, second, or even 23rd or 54th.
But now, enter a couple of little girls who have won the affection of their father's heart. And when asked, most little girls will either want to be a teacher, mother, princess, or ballerina. And in our house, ballerina has become a sot after role. And what's a father to do but make ballet buns in their hair (yes, it has happened a few times) and have them go to practice every week . I wouldn't say that I've become "cultured", although I do appreciate art to some extent. And photography has always been a passion of mine. Now the opportunity arose to combine the cultured side of two of my daughters, and my love of photography. A long time ago, I read a book entitled Juxtaposition. It was basically a place where 2 worlds met. Two completely different worlds. At this point, both worlds exist. For me perhaps this is the place where many fathers find themselves. Being a manly man, and yet having a tea party with a princess. The delicate
meets rough.













What Ballet has taught me... It has taught me, teamwork. And I can only imagine what it must take to teach a group of 7 and 8 year olds to move gracefully, together and to try to make it look effortless.

Ballet has taught me about being graceful. Again, I’m a man. I don’t pride myself in being "graceful". But I see young girls moving "gracefully" across the floor. Sometimes not, but there is definitely an effort being made by both teacher and pupil.

Friendship: Working together for a common interest.

I

I see ballet as a time to have fun. If you can’t have fun doing something you enjoy………

The last thing I have learned and seen clearly is

Mentorship.

The teacher, teaching the students what she herself learned from her teacher.

Sharing the joy of, in this case, Ballet. This is something that everyone of us should be striving to implement on our lives. Whether that’s in our jobs, our church, our family, or our community.
Thank you Miss Leanne for the role you have played in our girls lives.

Oh, I have also learned about our frailties.


How one false move can take us from high hopes and dreams to sitting on the sidelines.













From "rising star", to hobbling extra.

When this happens, we are left with little options.

At times like these, it’s best just to sit out the dance and wait.















Patience may not always be our strong point.

But are we left with much choice?

Patience Tiny Dancer, you will rise again.