Jezebel |h.s|

Four

Isabella

Saturdays are the busiest at the studio. There is a constant stream of parents and students coming in and out all day long with little to no breaks in between. The only break I can squeeze in is lunch, but that's only because Gina teaches a class for an hour.

Other than that I'm constantly in the studio teaching or assisting another teacher. I don't mind it though. If I did, I wouldn't have given myself such a packed schedule. It's kind of crazy honestly how much I love the chaos.

My Saturday usually ends with the baby ballet class. Once that class is over I have to run home to get a nap in and eat dinner before heading over to the club. Then I'm there from nine until four in the morning at least. Sundays I usually spend the entire day passed out in bed from exhaustion since it's really my only day off. No dance class and no club shifts.

Today was an intense day at the studio to say the least. Kat had a doctor's appointment scheduled so I had to cover her classes by myself, something I volunteered for but that doesn't mean it's a walk in the park. Thankfully I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel as my last baby ballet class comes to a close.

This class has quickly become one of my absolute favorites to teach lately, mainly because of how sweet the kids are. The babies always have a soft spot in my heart, but this group just goes above and beyond any expectations I could have had. Not only are they my best listeners, they're just so sweet and love to give hugs and participate. It's like a breath of fresh air walking into that class.

We always start baby ballet off with finding a tutu and sitting on a dot. I'll read them a book that has to do with ballet before we start to stretch. Usually I have an assistant with me to help keep an eye on everyone and today it's one of my teenagers from the competition team, Ariana. Once stretching is all done, which usually takes a half our time since we have to make sure every kid is doing the right thing and learning good habits, we start on what we're learning for the day. Since it's the beginning of the season we've been focusing on the ballet positions and the very basics.

Pretty soon we'll have to start learning the recital dance, which is gonna be super fun. Of course on the big day I'll be there showing them the steps and half of them will follow along and the other half will stand there, but it's always adorable either way. The parents always get a kick out of the baby dances, plus their costumes are always the sweetest. I make sure all my babies have the most adorable costumes.

A lot of this first dance season for them is learning how to move their body to music and getting them used to the dance setting. If they decide to come back next season, we build off the foundation that we've started with. Some of the kids will leave though. Most will stay for at least another year and some will even go on to join competition teams if they really love to dance.

I already have a good idea of which kids would stay recreational and which may have a future as a dancer. My boys probably won't be professional ballet dancers since they're more interested in climbing and hanging off the barre, but it's still early. Maybe they'll fall in love with the art, but that's asking a lot of three year old boys.

My prima ballerina of the class is little Ottilie Styles. In all my years teaching, I have never seen a three year old so focused and dedicated. She's my quietest little one, but not because she's shy. No, once she's in the zone, she is silent and determined. I can tell she's one of my students that actually goes home and thinks about what we went over in class which almost never happens with my babies.

I've been meaning to talk to her dad about her progress so I could encourage him to keep her in dance, but ever since he winked at me I've been a little hesitant. I don't think I ever had a dad wink at me and I'm not even sure if it was supposed to be as flirty as it came off. It's not that I'm scared to talk to him and that he'll make an advance, because I've dealt with creepier guys at the club who have done a lot worse than winking. But Ottilie's dad doesn't seem creepy, not even in the slightest.