Dance Mom | Eva’s Ballet Portrait Session

I never planned to be a dance mom.

Now, I’m not saying that as a bad thing at all! It just wasn’t in my plans. I didn’t dance, none of my sisters danced. I don’t know anything about the dance world. Swimming, golf, tennis, even soccer- yes! Dance- no. Yet here I am, volunteering to be a backstage dance mom, sitting at the dance studio two hours a week for ballet, letting my 8 year old wear make up for recitals. Never say never!

Now, I realize that most dance moms are at the studio far more than two hours a week, but remember, I never planned for this. It just sort of happened.

Every Christmas, I take my girls to a show. We dress in our holiday finest, enjoy dinner out and see a show. One year, we saw the Radio City Rockettes. They are amazing. Another year we watched our local youth theatre perform “A Winnie the Pooh Christmas Tail”. This past year, we saw a local performance of The Nutcracker. Eva, who was 7 at the time, climbed into my lap before the show started, to ensure that she could see. As the lights dimmed and the curtain rose, she lifted right off my lap as she took in a breath that I swear she didn’t let out until intermission. Right then, I knew.

phoenix dance recital photography

“I want to be a ballerina! I want to dance in The Nutcracker!”

Her words did not surprise me at all. I could tell from the moment the first dancer graced the stage that Eva was falling in love.

It took another month or so for things to sink in, but Eva couldn’t stop talking about The Nutcracker. She knew exactly which part she wanted, and could we go see The Nutcracker for our show every year?

By February, I knew what needed to happen. I talked to a friend who teaches at a local studio and got Eva signed up for ballet, then convinced one of her best friends to sign up too! Both girls came out of their first ballet class beaming, and just like that, I embraced my new role as a dance mom.

I learned a few lessons from my path to being a dance mom-

First, I am so not the one in control! Actually, this is a lesson I have to learn over and over and over again! I think I’m the one in charge, making the decisions, but some decisions are made for me!

Second, even though my dream for life never included being a dance mom, watching my daughter discover her dream and chase it has become my new dream. I absolutely love the way her face lights up when she talks about ballet, I love that she wants a barre in her room and that she asks me to stretch with her so she’s flexible for her classes. I love being the mom of a passionate dancer. And I love that we got to document her passion through a photo session.

Have you ever thought to document the things your children are passionate about with a photo session? Cooking, soccer, Cub Scouts, art… you name it, we can design a session to document it! Now that I’ve documented Eva’s passion for dance through a photo session, I cannot wait to take similar pictures of the rest of my kiddos. I know that as they find success chasing their dreams, we will all treasure the photos of them at the beginning of their journey.