06/20/2016
The Kathryn Howard School of Dance Recital was June 11th at the Umpqua Community College Jacoby Theater. Ainsley took ballet with KHSD last year and this year tried her luck with the Hip Hop class. Ian and Campbell have been taking Breakdance. I taught another year of Musical Theater and 4 cute girls performed "I Enjoy Being A Girl" from Flower Drum Song. These recitals are always fun. I love being back in the theater and the energy that comes with it ... Campbell, our perfectionist kid, has agonized over the dance and performance. He stayed after class to get tips and 1:1 time with his instructor and worked with him to re-choreograph and end pose at dress rehearsal. He'd worried about this performance until the last minute. Boy, that kid was all smiles as soon as it was over. (relief) Later, he asked if I'd video taped it - and then before the show ended decided he didn't want to see it. He was on top of the world after the performance and was afraid that if he watched the video, he would see mistakes and ruin the experience. LOL This kid is a gem. I sure wish he could see the skills that he has and the talent we see. He's a definite diamond in the rough. Ainsley has come a long way from her first recital - they danced to "Slipper Seal", where she literally became a seal and curled up on stage for the duration of the song. ha..ha. There's one (or five) in every show, right? ;) Ian is a natural - his athletic ability makes this stuff seem easy. The bonus to the boys dancing together is they're able to practice together. (Thanks, Apple TV, you made practicing much more pleasant ... big screen vs phone screen was a win!)
I think it's safe to say, the Russell family had a busy year between the studio, sports, scouts and other activities! :) The Professional photos are the handy work of the fabulous Keri Blue, as always, she captures the best of these kiddos.(OK, so the ones I've posted at the end are my tacky "pictures of pictures" so I could share with you here, but the originals are fantastic!) Amazing woman, amazing work!
After a couple of weeks "off" we're looking forward to summer dance camps and sure hope to see some of our local friends there!