Naomi had her second ballet recital yesterday. She doesn’t seem nervous performing at all.

First came the “baby ballerinas,” in their long white snowman dresses, gleeful at the novelty of being on stage.  There were the furious wavers, proudly making sure their parents were noticing them.  There were the ones who stood chewing on the tulle on their dresses, twiddling their ballerina buns, poking their fingers into their nose, or staring absently out into the audience.  When the leaping part of the song came they jumped enthusiastically, hair bobbing, faces grinning.

The levels paraded up in their christmas costumes, at least a dozen little girls in each.  Red sequence gowns, reindeer, angels, snowmen, and Naomi’s group with their bright green dresses.  The teacher, Miss Amelia, smiling relentlessly, gave us a whole new appreciation for the term “herding cats,” and for the level of coordination that it takes to make a dozen five year olds flutter gracefully in a circle, landing back on the line where they started.

I remember feeling quite nervous about being on stage as a young kid, during our annual school christmas concerts.  Naomi didn’t exhibit an once of nervousness; she’s made of sterner stuff than I!