As I reported on the family news site, Friday saw the annual dance recital. Sub-Evil Boy‘s been doing this dance thing for years (5? 6?), so he’s an old hand (more on that later), but this was particularly special because it was the debut of WeatherGirl on the dancing stage.
They’ve each already written about it (his and hers), while I spent most of my time getting the better of the photos up.
The photo of the two of them together (above) has obvious sentimental importance, but my favorite as a photo is the shot below of a bunch of the kids milling about waiting for things to get started. I love the way the light explodes off the one girl’s head band, and the vaguely pensive look on Sub-Evil’s face is also cool. (He almost looks like he’s smoking, but I think he was actually licking a little mint off his fingers.)
Most of the shots taken while they were actually dancing are pretty blurry/grainy because the light just wasn’t that strong. Ah, for the days of 1600 ASA B&W film pushed to 3200 or 6400 (I used to do that a lot when shooting bands in clubs in Austin, TX – more on that another day, perhaps). I really like our little digital camera in most every way, but it just doesn’t hold up to the old 35mm film jobbies in these low light situations.
It was really cool seeing WeatherGirl dance in public for the first time. She’s really become quite the performer in the last decade, having gone from pretty much no public performance to a one-woman show of her art and performances at piano, voice, and (now) dance recitals. She and Janet (her partner in crime) had obviously worked really hard on their routines and had them down super solid, giving them the freedom to actually enjoy themselves a little on the stage, which was loads of fun to watch.
Sub-Evil’s been performing so much for so long in so many different contexts, I confess with a heavy heart that his events don’t always blip as prominently on the radar as they should. In the early days, I remember we’d work with him hard at home, making sure he had his material and presentation down solid. Now, at the tender age of 11, there’s a tendency to not sweat it nearly so much. This is probably in significant part because he’s repeatedly proved himself a more than capable performer, so to a significant degree we can just trust him to get on with it. On the other hand, though, I’m not always remembering the camera, which isn’t a good sign. Balance, balance, balance…
I also haven’t written about many of his events here, which isn’t an entirely happy thing. I’ve started several that I’ve never finished enough to post, but that doesn’t help you any, does it? Just this semester (and off the top of my head) he’s:
- Had a major role (John Darling) in the high school production of Peter Pan
- Been in two band recitals (the 5th and 6th grade recital here, and an honors band recital in Sauk Center)
- Played guitar in a elementary instrumental (mostly piano) recital
- Sung with me at the U’s open mic night
- Sung with me at the Art Booster fund raiser
- Performed (with the quartet) Athena Kildegaard’s ‘Dirt’ poem twice
- And probably some other stuff I can’t remember
Wow – I’m tired just thinking about it. And I really don’t think this is some crazy over-achiever parent thing. He really enjoys this stuff, and is genuinely enthusiastic about these events. And lord knows that he’s comfortable on the stage, which will serve him well for many a year.
Enough. Congratulations to them both for a wonderful job!
