First Ballroom Competition (December 2017)

Hello. It is September. I love Autumn, although it isn't quite Fall yet. The days are still too warm, but they are cooling and the earth is fat and happy and getting ready to hibernate in a few short months. This is one of my most favorite times of the year. However, it means the holidays are right around the corner, and that means December is only a breath away. And I STILL haven't finished blogging December from last year. (Yes, you may point at me and say 'shame')

I'm behind for the summer, although not terribly so, but I do NOT want December to roll around with posts from 2017 still waiting to be done. So we are going back in time to our very first Ballroom Competition. I have already posted about Ballroom Competitions from the Spring, but this one was special, because it was our first. The Elementary School had never done one before, and June was taking Junior High Ballroom and she had never been to a competition before. And they were the same day back to back, so that was nice.

First up was Elementary. I found Beth in the crowd and we sat together.

And Maggie had made the cutest sign ever to cheer on her brother and sister.

Here they come. If you can spot Daisy and Ivory in this somewhat blurry picture...give yourself a pat on the back.

I'm assuming the program was the same as other ones. I can't remember that far back. I don't think I took videos of all the dances. Perhaps I was saving my battery for June? Maybe I got lazy? Maybe I figured I would get some of the video from Beth? Who knows what the plan was back then. But I do have a few. First up was Ivory and Hudson dancing the Tango.

They did a good job. I only had eyes for my kids, but when I'm able to go back and watch again, I can see that they seem to know what they are doing a bit better than some other couples. Tamie was such a great coach.

Next up was Daisy. She was dancing Cha Cha with Henry. They did a great job.

Such cuties!

And here is one more with Ivory dancing Swing with Hudson. They had a little more trouble on that dance. Ivory didn't feel as confident, but they did just fine.

The boys are such gentleman. They always escort the lady from the floor.

The last video I got was of the large group dance. I'm not sure why our group only dances half the time, but I thought it was very cute that all the schools learned the choreography and danced together.

Then they gave out awards. There was bronze, silver, and gold. And then there was a top team in each category. Our school got gold. Good job kids! But so surprising when they took the top team spot in Gold. So basically they won overall. And this was their first competition. It was super cool. Ivory and another girl went out to receive the award. Look how ecstatic she is!

We were so proud of our kids. They went on to get first place at BYU for the Elementary Division. This was a great first year of ballroom for all the kids.

Here is Daisy, Ivory, and Hudson.

Then we switched gears. Some parents and dancers left. Others arrived. And the Junior High part started. June's partner was John. She changed partners at every competition, but John was her first partner. They did Waltz first.

Then they performed Cha Cha. I love how June's skirt swings in this dance.

I don't remember what the individual teams got in this event. But I do remember that their school got one of the large trophies. There is one for Sportsmanship and one for Spirit. Our school got one of them...can't remember which. Santa presented the award. Two things I love about this next picture. First, Santa came to the Elementary School competition as well. He looked like a normal Santa. But for the older kids, he changed his hat to a steam punk theme. I guess normal Santa isn't cool enough for older kids. Also, check out Sean's face. He was so excited. It looks like he almost blowing people over with his cheer of triumph.

Here is June and John. John was super thrilled to take a picture. Most guys react this way.

And the team. They are pretty happy. Maybe they got Spirit?

It was a fun first day of competition. I feel like it was the day that started it all. I think several of my girls learned to love ballroom this day. And we are still doing ballroom today. June is on team, Daisy is competing again at the Elementary level, and Ivory is biding her time since they won't allow 7th grade girls to take it. But it is just around the corner for her.