Look Auntie! I'm Dancing!!

Last weekend I was invited (commanded, really, by the toddlers) to attend a most important dance recital for three nieces.  I, of course, immediately envisioned the following:

But no, this was no episode of Toddlers and Tiaras- no mothers backstage pushing pixie sticks and red bull down the throats of weary toddlers.  No hair pieces, eyelash extensions, fake tans or high heels. No  Honey Boo Boo Child, and her audience dancing mother frightening other children.

Just total and complete cuteness!  Here are the two sisters, representing the "younger class" of dancers:

 and here is the slightly older niece, representing the "veterans" of this dance class:

This auntie attended both performances over two days.  Yes, BOTH.  This enabled me to take photos from the audience the first night, and then from backstage the second day.  So professional!

Here is a lineup of "Happy to be Me" dancers, ready for their time in the spotlight:

 errrr, maybe ALMOST ready:

 almost all together! Too cute:

 Backstage, the veteran dancer concentrates as she prepares to storm the stage:

 Look at that line!  These girls had their number down! That's her second from the right:

As you can see, my photographs were pretty good for the theater conditions.... despite dealing with issues like this:

ahhh, intermission - Picture it if you can.  About 75 plus girls and boys running around backstage. Parents frantically searching for that damn bobby pin.  Younger siblings in strollers, wondering what this fuss is all about.  And camera bearing aunties like me, taking photos of everything.

Diversionary tactics were a MUST - here they are drawing on my Droid:

 and watching some iPad movie thing:

 Then, the time came to line up - the bunnies were ready for their bunny boogie dance:

 and here they are in all their bunny hopping glory!

 Backstage shenanigans while awaiting their next appearance:

 and here goes the other star, awaiting her turn to dazzle the crowd:

 and of course she did!

 Backstage again - we had some time before the bows and finale, so I got a couple more shots:

 Daddy with his baby bunnies:

 Then time for some hard earned bows!

 Please note who is center stage for her well deserved bow!

 The finale - all dancers on stage, with one niece determined to find her family out in the dark:

 DAY TWO - All dancers on stage please - all dancers on stage:

 I detected a slight note of dissension among the troops on day two:

This shot taken to show off mommy's hairstyling:

 Hmm, the enthusiasm was waning:

This should give you an idea of how big the show was - there were a lot of dancers, a lot of cool routines, and just the right amount of shenanigans to keep it fun AND funny!

A parting shot of the newest "So You Think You Can Dance" star: