performance >>

its late I have not long been back from being a very, very small part of a dance (performance evening) at the school where I teach (not where I dance). my 9 year old son was also part of this performance. his school had rehearsed and practiced for it and came up to the big school to be part of a bigger evening.

that in it's self is nothing unusual schools all over the UK & europe will have the same kind of thing happening through the year. but this one was different I saw the performance from a different view that of a teacher (as usual) and also as a parent (still not unusual) the combination is perhaps the difference. I saw the nerves of all the performers, the upset when some-one got things wrong and the happiness when things went ok. I also experienced the dismissal by some adults/parents of the way that the children 'weren't that good' in contrast to the vast majority who thought it was marvelous.

for the most part I think that parents, adults, and even some teachers had missed the point. for most the children and young adults that took part the future will be very unlikely to be full of acting/dancing /performing in front of a partisan full house. (for the few it might just happen) but there lives will be more than ever modeled by the way they attempt things. being part in what ever way of a collaboration is difficult but the difficulty is more often rewarded by a huge sense of achievement and relief, even when things don't go well.

we are all performers in some way, learning to cope with the pressures and enjoy the experience is difficult. so a dance in front of a hall full of people is surely a way to in crease the confidence of the majority, and has to be worth being part of. me I was just back stage making sure the break dancers didn't get too excited, but I actually enjoyed it. more perhaps because I saw the happiness in my son's face as he along with his fellow class-mates left the stage having pretended to be 'humanoids'.