For the first time this year, one of my children is participating in an activity that is competitive in nature. Okay, both of my older girls played soccer when they were 5, but you could hardly call their games competitive. This year my eldest daughter has joined a competitive dance team with the Grimes Superstars dance studio. Her first competition is coming this weekend and I am not sure what to expect. Her team will be competing in the Talent on Parade dance competition being held this Wednesday through Sunday at HyVee Hall in the Iowa Events Center. We have had these five days blocked off on our calendar since last August, but the time has finally come to see the results of all the team’s hard work. I am excited but uncertain what the weekend holds for us.
Luckily the girls and I have been doing a little research, courtesy of the reality show, Dance Moms. Dance Mom fever has swept our household the last month or so, as the girls have been watching previous seasons on Netflix as well as the current season on Lifetime. Now, I can promise you if the rehearsal experience at Grimes Superstars was anything like what we see on the show, my daughter would not be on the dance team. While the Abby Lee Dance Company (ALDC) seems to foster an environment of criticism and cat fighting, Grimes Superstars (GS) emphasizes hard-work and supportive direction to encourage the girls to do their best. I can only assume that the same attitude will continue when the girls start competing this weekend.
But despite the difference in attitudes between the ALDC and GS, there is still a lot to learn about competitive dance from the show. Thanks to the show, I can now envision the team’s single performance on a large stage in an auditorium. I can hear the packed audience cheering loudly when the team members hit their final pose. I can imagine the team sitting on the stage in their warmups and waiting to hear if they placed, and if so, where. Prior to watching Dance Moms, I had kind of assumed that the competition would be a little more like the soccer tournaments I watched as kid, with multiple rounds of competition and teams advancing to a final. In retrospect, that vision doesn’t seem entirely practical, but, prior to Dance Moms, that is what I thought we had in store for us. I will admit I am kind of relieved.
I am eagerly anticipating this weekend and I hope the Production Hip Hop team from Grimes Superstars does their best at Talent on Parade. I am excited to see the other teams’ performances; my daughters are hopeful that the Abby Lee girls will be there as well. I am guessing they won’t be, but wouldn’t that be fun!
So don’t be surprised if you see hordes of young girls wearing false eyelashes this weekend in downtown Des Moines. The hoopla and pageantry we typically see on Dance Moms is coming to Des Moines! And I promise that even though I am now a “dance mom”, I will not fight with any of the other moms and I will keep any snarky comments to myself! Good luck to the Grimes Superstars Production Hip Hop team!
