Stage Debut

At the end of every school year, E's preschool puts on a performance.  We had been told about this performance from previous FSO's whose kids have attended, and we were told it was very nice, but we still weren't quite sure what to expect.  Of course, I pictured a 20 minute presentation of a few songs complete with hand motions a la The Itsy Bitsy Spider or Row Row Row Your Boat.  What I did not expect was an elaborate, 1.5 hour-long song and dance extravaganza that included frilly dresses, amazing costumes and Gangnam Style.  

All I can say is that this school really outdid themselves.  The teachers had sent home new song lyrics every week starting in February and I was told to practice with E at home.  Of course, all the lyrics were in Turkish so yeah, that wasn't happening.  But I knew they were also learning and practicing the songs at school too, so I crossed my fingers and just hoped my kid would deliver on the day of.  

During the singing portion of the show, the other kids were amazing.  Perfect hand motions, beautiful singing and even dainty applause between each song.  My kid?  Well, not so much.  He stood there staring at the children around him like he had never heard these songs before and then proceeded to pull a Magic Mike by attempting to remove his shirt and run off stage.  A teacher managed to wrestle him back on stage where she kept him there with bribes of candy that she continuously shoveled into his mouth every 3 minutes.  Hey, whatever works. In all fairness to my little dude, he is the youngest one there, so you can't expect much, right?  

Wrong.  Just when I thought my poor child wouldn't and couldn't be swayed into performing, he delivered 100% on the dancing portion.  First up, a fast little diddy where all the boys wore bumblebee costumes and the girls donned ladybug attire.  S and I had no idea costumes were involved (we did send in 150TL for the "performance" so I guess that's where our money went) so imagine our surprise when the curtains parted and there before us stood the cutest, most adorable little bumblebee on the planet.  He seemed a bit dazed at first, but once he got his bearings he was on fire.  Twirling, shaking his finger, stomping his feet, and even throwing his arms out and screaming "yaaaaayy" at the top of his longs during the finale.**  

For the second dance they wore traditional Turkish attire and stomped their feet while clapping their hands.  Not a lot of intricate dance steps involved, but it suddenly dawned on me how hard simultaneous clapping and stomping is for a 2-year old.  But he did it!  S and I were so proud. 

The school teaches kids from ages 2-6, so the older children also performed, but their routines were much more complex than E's group, for obvious reasons.  I was quite impressed by the whole show.  From the lighting to the music to the dancing and singing, it was a hit.  I can't wait for next year.

The performance is about to begin...

And the shirt is coming off...

The singing portion (notice E is missing and notice Ataturk is very present)

A group of older kids dancing.

More cool costumes and dancing

So serious!  Traditional Turkish clothing and dancing.

Still a little unsure...warming up...

Pre-show.  

**I wish I could post videos of his performance, especially the bumblebee one, but until I can figure out a way to blur the name of his school, I will have to refrain.  But, if you're friends with me on Facebook, you may have already seen it.**