Daily Prompt: Harmony
I am at my granddaughter’s dance competition this weekend. There are 17 schools of dance competing here. For the first time in my eight year old granddaugher’s dancing career, she did not take first place for her dance solos. She competed in two.

Firstly she had to be at the Convention Center by 6:30 AM this morning and take the stage at 7:35 AM for her first performance. She did not wake up happy and her allergies are bothering her. Everything is blooming down here. So, she begins her dance and proceeds to do a costume adjustment. Now I have been watching this child dance since she was three and her compete since she was 5 and I have never seen her do this. From the get go she has had an amazing stage presence.

Secondly at 8:00 AM she took the stage for her second solo. The music started and she not only readjusted her costume, but she just stopped and stared at the judges…she had forgotten her moves.  She did, however, regain control and completed her dance. The fact that she didn’t run off the stage crying says a lot about how much she loves dancing and how responsible she feels to not only her parents, but to her school and fellow students. I was/am very proud of her.

We had a break at that point so we took Alannah for some breakfast where she proceeded to have a minor meltdown over our meal. In all fairness I may have been the cause of the meltdown. I made the mistake of correcting her during breakfast. Any other day or time she would have listened, then moved on. But today was not that day. Clearly, something is not right with her today. She finally revealed she feels awful with her allergies and she is so tired and she just had a bad, bad morning. She is so disappointed with her performance. How do you get an 8 year old to understand that this happens. Professional dancers who are world famous have bad days. Maybe they don’t attempt to adjust their costumes, but they do forget where they are in dances and what comes next. Alannah seemed to accept those words of wisdom finally.   She actually didn’t have much choice as her mom has a strict no whining policy.

Next, we are back at the competition. Alannah is in two group dances. Hip hop and clogging. The girls dance onto the stage and my Alannah is back. She is clogging with great abandon and they are looking good. These girls are dancing as one unit, all together and their moves are sharp. After that performance she has her Hip hop group dance. She’s still got it together, but not like the clogging number. Again off the stage, long face again. Next up- award ceremony.

Alannah earned Gold for her two solos which were tap and jazz. So, although she didn’t win those dances, she took second. That should give you an idea of her talent. She earned second while messing up. She was relieved about the outcome.

Next up lunch. Off we go to Fudruckers.

We get back just in time for the group awards. Her clogging group dance earned Platinum and took 4th over all; and won a special judges award for technique. She was beaming. Unfortunately her hip hop earned her a top 20 overall.

I now sit here in the front of the convention center writing this blog waiting for Alannah’s sixth and final dance of the weekend. It’s her tap group dance. Followed by two more numbers from her studio and then awards. Our next trip out of here will be to the hotel where I will not waste any time getting into my bed.

So, what has this to do with harmony you ask? Well it occurs to me that without harmony with your environment it is difficult to perform your best. To maintain this harmony, you must get adequate sleep, eat well and keep illnesses and allergies in check.

It also occurs to me that harmony with your dance partners is important for success. In music, without a complimentary blend of harmony you are left with just noise. In dance you are left with a collection of ungraceful missteps. With that harmony, you soar with the music and glide across the floor producing a beautiful display of talent and ability.