Dance, Dance, Dance All Month Long

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Faith has had a super fun month with many opportunities to dance! At the beginning of April, she began her last session of adaptive dance at Northern Plains Dance. There are 5 sessions throughout the year, and then they take a break over summer and resume in the fall. Faith at an adaptive dance class  The adaptive dance classes take place Friday evenings. I pick her up a little bit early from her day program so that she has a chance to rest a bit before heading off to dance. Then once she gets home, she likes to watch the whole week of Wheel of Fortune, which we record every night.  On the second Sunday of April, Faith participated in the Northern Plains Dance student showcase where all of the students demonstrated the skills they have acquired throughout the year. Faith was excited to be on stage again at the Belle Mehus!  This year, the adaptive dance class performed to the song "Golden." They were able to do the 4:00 show instead of the earlier one, which made it pos...
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Our Sesame Street Live Experience

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Faith loves Sesame Street and has gone to Sesame Street Live for the past two years. Both times she was a little tense during the whole show and startled during the loud, sudden noises. Even through the tension and startling, she still seemed to have fun. But because of her startling, I wasn't sure if I was going to take her again. But then when I asked her if she wanted to go, she became very excited, so I purchased the tickets.

All day Sunday she was ready to go to "the big building," (her name for the Civic Center), for Sesame Street Live. The show wasn't until 4:30 so she had kind of a long wait. Finally, the moment arrived, and we drove down to 5th Street for the big event.

When we got into the auditorium, Faith got very nervous and became very tense. Our seats were on the floor about seven rows from the stage. An events coordinator tried to get us closer to the stage so Faith could see better and while I appreciated his consideration, I said it would be better for her to be further away. 

As we sat there waiting for the show to begin, Faith kept saying she wanted to leave the big building and go back home. We went out of the auditorium where it was quieter, and I tried to remind her how excited she had been to come here. Eventually, we heard Big Bird's voice, so we ventured back inside. We stood at the back for a while then slowly moved forward. It was dark and loud and when we got to our seats Faith started crying and wanted to leave again.

I was beginning to think we may have to forget the whole thing and go back home. I was so disappointed - not in her but for her. I really believed she wanted to see the show, but the loudness and the darkness were getting her so worked up that her already tight muscles were working overtime causing her to be physically uncomfortable. I so wanted her to be able to relax and have fun. I decided to give it one last try.

We went back out and had a little talk. I tried to comfort her and encourage her as best I could. By this time, almost all of the characters were on stage, and I knew she really wanted to see them, so she agreed to try one more time. Again, we slowly ventured inside and stood at the back for a while. This time, I didn't try to go all the way up to our seats, I stopped at the last row and asked if she was OK. She seemed fine this time so that's where we stayed. Finally, I saw her smile as she yelled, "Oh boy oh boy look at all the characters on stage!"

YAY!! I was so happy and excited for her. It took a lot of coaxing, but she was able to overcome her anxiety and ended up really enjoying the show. She sang along with the songs that she knew. There were still a few startles here and there, but she did really well for the most part. 

Her favorite part was the Elmo's World scene complete with Elmo's friends, Dorothy and Mr. Noodle. As far as the actual show, I thought it was the best one we have ever gone to. They made it very interactive with the kids and there were some really cool backdrops and stage effects. Chances are, we'll probably end up going again next year!

"La la la la, la la la la, Elmo's World. Elmo loves his goldfish, his
crayons too, that's Elmo's World!"

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