Another year, another dance recital in the books. This year marks 12 years of dance for our (not so tiny) dancer. That adds up to around 20 recitals and too many competitions to count. We have purchased somewhere around 150 costumes, and countless pairs of tap shoes, jazz shoes, pointe shoes, and hip-hop shoes. We’ve bought earrings …
Author Archives: ang.haller@gmail.com
To be the Best
Tomorrow morning, my dancer girl takes the stage for the first time this year. Her solos this year will once again challenge her and stretch her in new ways. As the competition season gets underway for her, there are things that I hope she remembers. To my beautiful and hardworking dancer, Remember, it was never about …
Christmas Like Clark
Have you seen National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation recently? If you haven’t, you should. In fact, we should all give it a watch. We should all strive to look at Christmas like Clark. Despite challenges and hiccups and stress, he never faltered. He never lost his cool. (With the exception of the light incident.) He never forgot that Christmas …
Fearless
This past week, as I took my morning walk on my normal path through our neighborhood, something big dawned on me. I used to be fearless. I was walking down one of the many streets in our neighborhood that line the woods and marsh. I always catch myself looking out into the trees and wondering about …
Ripples
I’ve never thought of my life as a journey to affect others. I suppose that my life as a journey of purpose to some specific goal was never exactly on my radar. Rather, I’ve always felt like I’ve been on a journey to discover myself. At a young age and even as a 45-year-old, I’ve been searching. Life …
A Well-Rounded Dancer
A well-rounded dancer by definition (according to AI and other sources) states that said dancer has a well balanced education in technique and exposure to various different styles. They have a diverse background of experience and comprehensive training in many different areas. While I don’t disagree, I have my own definition of what a well-rounded dancer …
A Tribute to Dance Moms…
On this Earth, there are many different types of moms. There are moms who pack special lunches with heartfelt notes, moms who work three jobs to make ends meet, and moms who make everyone’s child feel as special as their own. There are moms who make schedules and organize everyone’s life, moms who put gourmet …
Larger Than Life
A tribute to a man whose life cannot be expressed in words, but whose presence lives on in stories, feelings, and moments that won’t ever be forgotten. “Life is full of grief, to exactly the depth we allow ourself to love other people.” —Orson Scott Card, Shadow of the Giant Death is a scary thing. …
To the moms behind the scenes…
Today, my tiny dancer daughter had a moment in the spotlight. She won an amazing honor at her summer dance intensive. I clapped. I took pictures. I was so incredibly proud. Her first comment upon seeing me was, “Are you crying?!” No! (Yes…I cried.) This mom life can be tough at times, and dance mom life? Don’t even get me …
Hard Work
Dear Hard Work,
You don’t scare me.