My daughter is on a very small competitive dance team. We have 7 dancers. When we travel to competition we are surrounded by teams with HUGE numbers. Some of these studios bring 50+ kids.
This difference in numbers is felt in the hurry of the dressing room while we sit in our space and watch girls from other teams stumble over each other. It’s felt backstage where our soloists get lost in the sea of dancers from other teams waiting in the wings.
It is especially felt out in the audience of the auditorium when a dancer takes and exits the stage.
The ROAR that erupts from the crowd is noticeably quieter for our girls than the dancers of larger teams. There are far less shouts of “Work it girl!” and “You got this!” heard when our kiddos take the stage or finish a routine.
Don’t get me wrong, myself and the other parents make it known who we are there with and that we are proud, but 7 sets of parent screams are not as enthusiastic and does not fill the auditorium the way that 50 sets of parent screams do. This has been our normal for years and honestly, I don’t think the dancers notice it as much as we parents do.
But there is something else I have also noticed, this last competition year especially. When our parents are all sitting together in one little section of auditorium, cheering as loudly as we can, I have heard screams of encouragement and excitement for our dancers coming from elsewhere in the auditorium. Coming from Moms that we don’t know who have dancers at other studios.
And it’s more than the standard quick courtesy clap.
I have noticed the Dance Mom from another team who goes “WOOOOOO” when my daughter and her duo partner do their fancy acro move.
I have noticed the Dance Mom from another team who laughs loudly and dances along during my daughter’s humorous musical theatre solo.
And its not only onstage.
I have noticed the Dance Mom who sees my daughter in passing in the hallway and says “hey, you did a great job up there!”
I have noticed the Dance Mom who goes out of her way to tell my daughter that she likes her costume.
I have noticed the Dance Mom backstage who sees me and my daughter struggling with a hair piece and offers an extra hand or spare bobby pins.
I see you awesome, encouraging and supportive Dance Moms from other studios.
So here’s to you.
Here’s to the Dance Mom’s (and Dad’s!) who clap for other peoples kids. The Moms who get that it is so much more than a trophy. The moms that get that we need each other.
I see you and you may never know how much our small little team and I appreciate you.
Sincerely,
BrokeDanceMom
Yea, it’s nice to have extra support!
This is awesome!! Everyone needs support because at the end of the day we are raising human beings that we want to just be good people, love what they do, fight for what’s right, don’t give up and think about others.
We are all a dance family doesn’t matter which team… we support each other @fiercedanceoldham
What a great read! This is so true! It is important to cheer and clap for Everyone. We are all in this together. As one person put it, “We are all dance family.”
I remember when my son attended his first ever Nationals for a Jazz solo. He was the only one there representing our team. I was backstage with him and my husband was seated front row in the audience. I remember telling him to yell as loud as he could when our son took to the stage. Well to our delight several people in the audience and all the dancers backstage cheered him on. It moved me to tears because we thought we would be the only ones cheering for him. It was so inspiring and uplifting for all of us and especially for my eight year old son! I will never forget this. What goes around comes around. We always applaud and take a moment to compliment other dancers.
Yeah, I am that mom that came because my daughter’s friend is in it. I don’t know any of the kids, but you would think each one of them were mine. I am hollering, cheering…I can even whistle. I will ask kids I know I whistle for did they hear me. They often laugh and say, “That was you?” with a crazy face. “YES!” not realizing this 52 year old woman was once the only girl pitcher in her entire league…you learn some things. We give high fives or a quick hug. As they are walking away, I hear the mom, “who was that?” “I don’t know” LOL A quick laugh and glance back, we give each other a smile and distant high five. Yes, we are mothers, we stick together.