stealing the show

elenora's ballet recital was fabulous. she was so excited about it and not nervous at all. we've been reading a book called "little ballerinas" that shows little girls in dance class and at the end of the book they go on stage to put on a performance. so she has been prepared for what the show will be like.

here she is just about to go backstage.

there's something about sending your little one through the backstage doors and having them shut with her on the other side...

...and then to see her come out on the huge stage with the lights shining down!

elenora danced a fair amount through the performance. sometimes she would start doing a move and kind of get stuck on it and not realize that the teachers were doing other moves, but the teachers were in the wings and ella was in the very middle of the stage, so it was hard for her to really keep focused on them. anyhow, i was so proud of her and i think she did great. she's the littlest and the youngest of all the girls in her class. she looked so small next to all the 4 and 5 year olds.

at the end of the performance i jumped up and ran out the back of the auditorium to collect her...

...so i completely missed her solo performance!!! apparently all the little girls filed off-stage, but elenora just stood in the middle of the stage by herself (to the audience's delight) looking adorable until one of the teachers came out and took her by the hand and led her out, waving, to great applause. talk about stealing the show!

as soon as i scooped her up she said "can i do it again, mommy?!?" and i said "not until next year, but you can dance all you want to at home."