Whoever says sunshine brings happiness has never danced in the RAIN!

Though Pancake Day didn't have the best weather (in fact, it was quite miserable), I speak for all three of us when I say that this was one of the happiest days at our studio.  The amount of love and support we felt from our parents and students was overwhelming.  Our decision to go ahead and perform on the stage in no way came solely from the three of us! We had students begging us to dance!! We did away with costume changes and dance shoes to ensure safety, as well as modifying the dances so the students didn't have to do the floor parts and get soaked! But did they listen? No! :) They in no way wanted to take away from the choreography or their performance by not going completely full out. Finally there is a chance for the community to see the dedication that we see in these kids every day at the studio.  They braved the rain, cold, and wet stage with huge smiles and energy despite their shivers.  I believe I only counted 3 slips during the entire performance.  The downpour held out until the second to last dance and our hip hop group didn't even flinch.

Spirits weren't just high on the stage! We had a huge audience for such a rainy day.  And for this we couldn't be more thankful.  Many weren't even holding umbrellas or sporting ponchos, and that shows true support!

Now on to the parade...
We definitely repeated over and over that in no way did we want to obligate anyone to do the parade on such a cold and wet day.  So to still have so many participants was amazing!  We figured our pom girls would have a little trouble being motivated to do their cheer for DXP throughout the entire parade route.  Turns out, Tara couldn't even direct them over their loud voices! :) And those loud voices never stopped!  Nothing made my Pancake Day more than looking over at those little faces and seeing them cheer their hearts out.

To all of our parents, volunteers, and students...Thank you for the boost of morale on a day with unfavorable weather.  It's hard to think about what our Pancake Days would be like without all of you.  We wouldn't want them any other way...rain and all! Somehow in all of the festivities we forgot our camera for the parade. Please feel free to e-mail pics to the studio's e-mail:  dancex-pressions@mchsi.com