Courtney's dance team was invited, along with 2 other dance studios, to dance in the Opening Ceremonies last night. She was really excited. The Ceremonies were supposed to be held outside at the Dixie State College football stadium. But Mother Nature had other plans...it has been raining here for days! Monday afternoon I took Courtney to her practice at the football stadium. We stood in the pouring rain for about 45 minutes before the directors decided to cancel the practice and just try to practice before the performance on Tuesday.
Here's what it looked like at the field when they wanted to practice:
Tuesday morning we got word that the venue had been changed due to weather and the Ceremonies would take place in the Burns Arena on Dixie campus. It's a lot smaller than the football field so they had to change a bunch of the show and cut some parts. But it all worked out.
Courtney was super excited and in her dance costume (a bright shirt, tights and black shorts) at about noon (she didn't have to go until 3:25). I put her make-up on (something I don't really like doing, but oh well) and tried to keep her busy for a few hours. Then it was time for her to go. Here she is ready to go:
After Ethan's piano lessons and I had taught my piano lessons, we packed dinner for Bryan and Courtney and took off for the Arena. They had blocked off a section for parents to sit in, so we took seats and saved a bunch for family who were coming. Courtney saw me and was super excited. She ate her dinner, finished practicing, touched up lipstick (oh brother!) and then went down to wait for the Ceremonies to start.
It took about 10 minutes before she lost it and started running, crying, up to where we were sitting. I calmed her down and went down to the side of the stage to sit with her. She was super nervous and scared because they really hadn't had time to run through the program too well and she didn't know what she was doing. For my children, who are as type A as I am, this wasn't going to work. We don't fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants very well.
I sat with her while the older dancers did their thing and then the woman helping the little girls asked me to run girls to the bathroom, pass out ribbons, and generally help out. Courtney finally scooted up to the side of the stage and said she was ready to go. And she was! She ran to the front of the Arena with all the other girls and did the ribbon dance great. Here's a picture of all of them. Courtney is in hot pink on the back row (on your right) about the 3rd pink shirt from the top. I was so proud of her for overcoming her fear!
Then she sat back down with me, got on her "Disco" costume and headband, and was ready for the next number. The Games has a pharmaceutical sponsor who sells arthritis medication (I think) who has Gloria Gaynor ("I Will Survive") as their spokeswoman. She sang "I Will Survive" for the girls to dance too. Courtney didn't hesitate at all when it was her turn to run out on stage! She bopped around and did her thing like a pro. Here's the video of the end of the song. Courtney is on the far left in the middle of the basketball floor. She is the blonde with a bright colored disco shirt on in pink, yellow, green, etc.
When we were finished everyone was tired, but we had a great time and she did well. She got a couple of carnations for doing such a great job.
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