I have to start off with this song…
Then I have to tell you that both of my girls used to know how to dance like that. That is, until, ummmm, the head of the Irish dance troupe became so full of herself that I couldn’t stand for her to have one more dollar. Seriously. It’s a shame when people choose to operate their businesses in such a way, but I’ll have to tell you how it started going downhill.
We paid a tremendous amount of money for year-round dance lessons and then found out it would be good if we invested in a costume with the dance logo on it as well. It was known as the “mermaid” dress. It is hand-made from silk and embroidered in a very intricate design. Some of the costumes can be as much as $800 or more. We did not pay that much for ours. We also paid for hard shoes, which are expensive, and poodle socks, as well as the soft shoes. Anyway, you get the point Lots of money. If you do not compete, then you wait until dance recital time rolls around to even see what your children are learning as she slammed the door in your face, no lie or exaggeration, at the studio and you could not see the dancers.
The very first year we joined they scheduled the recital all the way in another city that was miles from where we live with as much traffic and congestion as possible to try to get over there. It was a warm day and the place was a bit stuffy. It was still bearable. The next year they scheduled it a bit closer, but still miles and miles away in another city with the rehearsal being during rush hour on a Friday night. The place was so extremely hot that the dancers had a hard time practicing, but we weren’t allowed to see that anyway. The following day, I was sure the air would be fixed. It was unbearable. Dancers make-up was melting off their faces, their wigs were droopy, hair was plastered with sweat and my poor parents could hardly stand the heat. Everyone was absolutely miserable. I was so glad my elderly relatives did not come as planned. They would not have been able to make it. As it was, we had to leave before the finale, which I normally wouldn’t do, but with my clothes clinging to me, I could not stand it a moment longer.
I e-mailed the owner of the dance troupe and asked her to please consider finding a place with working air conditioner because I was afraid the dancers were going to pass out. I also mentioned she always picked places closest to where she lived instead of considering all of her dancers and the ones that lived on the other side of the water. Apparently, this was sacrilege. She told me I sent her a very disrespectful e-mail. Ha ha ha…and then it got worse. She said I might want to send my daughter elsewhere, and so we stopped going. All because I told her I was afraid that the dancers were going to pass out. A friend e-mailed me who stayed with that particular dance company and told me that the very next year the recital was on our side of the water with working air. Well, what do you know?
“We swallow greedily any lie that flatters us, but we sip only little by little at a truth we find bitter.” ~Denis Diderot