She danced!!

Through prayer and a lot of determination, our girl found the courage and strength to get on the stage and dance last night in the year end performance. Truly a miracle that she went from not standing on her right foot in ballet shoes on Saturday, to dancing across the stage on Sunday night. Thank you, God, for my girl feeling Your strength.

There are a total of six performances from Friday evening to this evening. Between shows on Saturday, I was able to get in touch with my daughter's dance instructor via our very dear dancing friend. The message was just what my daughter needed to hear: If nothing is broken, they would really like to see her dance. They have a replacement for her Helper dance, but they have no replacement for her Maid's dance. If she can find the strength to give the best she can for 2.5 minutes, then they will take care of her with ice off stage.

Now, at first my daughter was in tears hearing this news. She felt like the biggest battle was ahead of her and she was not sure if she could do it. She felt as though more pressure was placed on her shoulders. Further,  she felt the Kindergarten class would be disappointed if she was not out with them (even though the studio had a replacement for my girl). She was a Helper for this part of the show: the mentor on stage who dances with the Kindergarten girls to help them remember their dance, get in the right places throughout the routine, and help eliminate stage fright. 

Consoling her that we still had 23 hours before show-time, and plenty of prayers being voiced from family and friends, we encouraged her to not give up. Twenty-three hours was plenty of time to make a turn-around. 

And we were right. The turn-around was fantastic enough to get her into that fighting spirit. She practiced once at home before we dressed to leave, in order to prove to herself that she could dance with out falling over, or bursting into tears. The pain was present, but better than the days prior. She found a way to compensate for the injury. She covered it up well through her dancing smile and sparkle. It totally worked. 

She went to the theater focused on completing both dances; which she did. She left the theater with a life lesson about faith, perseverance, and determination.

The pictures of her dancing are from the week prior during rehearsal. Any ballet position put stress on her injured right foot as she went into a point, a run, a jump, or a flex. The night of the show was not perfect technique, but she was wonderful. 

I think the only one not with tears when she was finished on stage was her ten year old brother. He was looking up and down the isle of misty-eyed Grandparents and parents with the biggest grin. He was so proud of his big sis - but he just wasn't going to cry about it.  

She is still riding Cloud 9 for a job well done, accompanied with more swelling on her little toe boosting her favorite colors of purple and yellow. She hobbled through the remaining three hours of school today - and now is celebrating the start of SUMMER!!!

She danced!!!