Dance

 Today's theme is "Dance". 

It was a grey and chilly start to the day but when I went to collect Ellie for school, she was very excited. Today was the dance show that she had been practising for weeks. She had her dance gear stowed in her backpack and her packed dinner in a separate handbag. The group would leave school after lunch and head for Worthing where they would have a couple of run-throughs, eat their packed dinner, and await the show.

Diane didn't go to Pilates. She had a poor night so she wasn't feeling the vibe. We had a fairly quiet morning pottering around the house and I grabbed time for a walk.

After our usual time with our books, Di got ready for her evening and I got ready for Ellie's show (though I avoided glittery shoes, a leotard, and rhinestones). We were heading in opposite directions. Diane was collecting Kim and then heading to Southsea to see Giovani Pernice - tickets that were booked many months before Ellie's show was announced. Zoe and I were heading for Worthing to watch "Dance House". This seems to be an annual celebration of dance for schools and colleges. Having parked the car we strolled along the prom towards the pier and its Pavillion Theatre.

We arrived in plenty of time and managed to sit down for a drink before heading for the auditorium. The show comprised dance routines which had been put together by each of the 14 participating schools. Each routine lasted about 5 minutes - a few were excellent, most were pretty good, and a few were dreadful. Even though the age range was from about 6 to 17, the age seemed to have little influence on the quality of dance. Ellie's school's routine was 2nd on the schedule and was very good, getting an excellent response from the audience. We then had to sit through all of the rest. It was 21:10 before it all finished. We headed back to the car with Ellie clutching her dance medal.

Because it was so late, I suggested she sleep at our house tonight there than have to get up early to be dropped off here at 7:00 in the morning. This was accepted as a good idea and she was tucked up in bed soon after 22:15. It was another 30 minutes or so before Diane arrived home, having thoroughly enjoyed her show. We spent a while catching up with each other's evening and then hit the sack.