Conclusion to Clogging

This last week was full of final performances. Some we caught on camera and others we did not. But all excuses will be given in good time.

The first show to come along was June's final clogging performance. Little did we know that it really would be the 'final' performance. We showed up and it was held at an outdoor stage. It was such a gorgeous evening, despite a chilled Daisy who voiced her discomfort every 2.3 minutes. There are quite a few teams involved in Extreme Rhythm's studio. It was really fun to see all the cool costumes and sharp footwork.

When June finally performed, she didn't seem as confident as usual. I'm not sure why, but she spent most of her time watching the feet of the girls next to her. Luckily Tyler took 90 photos (that is NOT an exaggeration, I counted) so I am able to include several here where she looks fabulous. I think she was still having a good time, even if she wasn't at the top of her game. (She is on the left in all the pictures.)

Somewhere in the middle they presented certificates to all the girls for their hard work through the year. Here is June receiving hers.

Then her group came on one more time later in the evening to perform their team dance. Oddly, June did not come on stage. That seemed a bit weird to us in the audience. June joined the studio halfway through the year, but I know she was working hard on the team dance. Afterward, I saw her walk off to the side all by herself, and so I went over to find out what was wrong. Tyler even caught a picture of me walking to join her.

It turns out that one of the girls told June it was a different dance, and so she didn't go on stage. She was a little heartbroken when all her hard work turned into nothing. I knew she was very disappointed. But she was consoled and we finished off the evening watching a few more, before it was clear that Daisy and Pearl had reached bedtime.

Here is June grabbing her shoes so we can go, but you can still see people performing in the background, and people off to the side.

It really was a fun performance by all the groups. Extreme Rhythm is quite amazing at what they do.

In the evening June mentioned that she didn't want to clog anymore. I asked her why and she said, "Mom, you know how clogging is supposed to be fun? Well, it isn't really anymore."

I couldn't argue with that. I want my girls to enjoy these extra activities, especially since we shell out money for them. I did tell her that I didn't want her to quit because of one bad experience and she assured me that she had been thinking about it for a while.

I never will know if things would have been different had the evening gone better for her, but I am fine with her decision. She has other talents she can explore and this was fun for her to try. And I really enjoyed watching the dances she participated in.