This past weekend was the dance recital extravaganza. The girls were in 3 performances over 2 days. That, combined with dress rehearsals every single day the week prior, made for exhausted kids and mom. We basically hung out the next day and recovered. SO tired.
After the final performance, there is an after party for all companies. My girls are each in a company...All Stars for Dani and Firecrackers for Erin (Firecrackers is a new company this year). At this party, the studio owner gives out awards to members in the companies. For the past 2 years, she has lavished praise on her premier company, the Starkids. Last year she mentioned the All Stars, but they did't receive any individual awards. Meanwhile, every single Starkid came away with an award.
This year was no different, except that she didn't even make mention of the All Stars. She at least said one sentence about the Firecrackers, but nothing more. Again, the focus was on the precious Starkids company and the Senior company. Each and every Starkid again received an individual award. This did NOT go over well with me or other moms/kids from the companies that were left out. Us moms had to come up with some sort of an explanation to their disappointed kids as to why they weren't recognized for all their achievements. It left a very sour taste in our mouths as we sat and were astounded at the lack of recognition for ALL companies. It was a company party after all.
The next day, I chatted about this with a friend who has a fellow All Star, and we tried to figure out a reason why these two companies were not recognized. We tried to rationalize it, but couldn't. She did ask me if I could come up with individual awards for all the players on my softball team, and truth be told...I probably couldn't. We had about 6 core girls that came to every practice, did extra practice and basically gave it their all. The other 5 missed a LOT of practices and even some games. HOWEVER, at the end of the season, I recognized the team as a whole and was very proud of their accomplishments AS A WHOLE. I did not leave anyone out and recognized the entire team.
So then I ask myself why. Why do I continue to pour money into dance at this studio when my girls just do not get respected. It's not just the company part of it, it's in their day-to-day classes as well. Dani is of the same age as many of the revered Starkids and is in several classes with them. She is CONSTANTLY overshadowed by their "brilliance" and she is always asking me why Miss Ann doesn't say anything nice to her...why does Miss Ann only compliment the Starkids...what do I say?? She absolutely hated one of her classes this past year because it was a class that consisted of all the Starkids plus her and one other girl. She felt intimidated by the Starkids and just did NOT want to go in. She would always beg me to stay, as if my presence would help her get through this class. The Starkids themselves are a very nice group of girls. I truly like several of them...I think because they are the favorites of the studio owner, they come out in a bad light.
I realize that everything in life will not be fair. I keep telling my girls that. But when they are overlooked time and again, it's so hard. They understand to a certain degree, but at some point, they just don't get it. And to be honest, neither do I.
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