The Racket of Toddler Ballet

Toddler ballet recitals are a complete, utter scam. Gillian had her first one last weekend. As any parent would, we wanted her to have the experience of performing, especially since she is such a ham. And because She makes us call her "Gillian Princess Ballerina Mermaid", and requires that we substitute this name in the place of "Angelina" in the Angelina Ballerina books (especially the one where she becomes a world famous ballerina and dances on the stage at the end; in this case we substitute "Mademoiselle Gillian Princess Ballerina Mermaid"). I mean, why limit yourself, when you can be everything magical and awesome in the world?

At any case it cost $125 for "costumes and tickets" for the recital. Custom costumes we were told. Huh. The skirt didn't look custom when I took them off the hanger with the tag on it. And the cheap black leotard was definitely not custom. I assume the costume was about $35, and the tickets were $20. So, a $70 profit on the cost of participating. And then there was the DVDs you could buy of the entire performance that were $30 because THERE IS NO RECORDING OF ANY KIND ALLOWED IN THE THEATER, people. Can you imagine? Paying $30 for a DVD of which your child (who does not have the cognitive capacity of remembering a dance routine yet) performs for 2 minutes?

Nope. So, I was one of many moms who snuck my video camera in and tried to be all incognito with it during Gillian's performance. Her two minute long dance, which she spent (mostly) playing with her doll prop. Doll props are dangerous, by the way. Attention spans of toddlers are short already, so it's best not to detract with a toy if you want them to follow what you are doing. But anyway, at the end of the day it was a great experience for her, it was cute for us to watch, and one day it will be a major outlet for my extrovert. So, without further ado....Mademoiselle Gillian Princess Ballerina Mermaid!!!