My Mom was a dancer, I’m a dancer.  It seems completely natural that my daughter grows up with a love for dance too.

My parents put me in a creative dance class when I was three…all three of us started dancing very early in life. I remember several occasions when music would be on in the living room and I’d hop up on the coffee table in my swimsuit and put on a dance performance.

Like my Mom, I majored in dance. She graduated from Texas Woman’s University and had hopes of opening up a dance studio. I graduated from the University of Alabama with dreams to dance professionally. We are both students of the dance of life.

My Mom and I have always had similar tastes in fashion, food and dance. We share a love for the dance company Hubbard Street. My daughter is content to watch the big girls at her dance studio and is gaining appreciation with each performance that we see. On rainy days, we like to watch The Red Shoes. It’s a joy for three generations to share a love for dance.

It was the best Mother’s Day gift to share the stage with my daughter in a recent dance performance. How perfect that the name of the dance piece was, Dream within a Dream. Being on stage with someone who you love so much, doing what you love to do…it’s unbelievably gratifying. My Mom, proudly watching in the audience, never missed a performance.

My little girl was so light in my arms, following with her soft steps, and nerves you could not see! Each performance before the curtain opened, my daughter would say, “Mommy, I’m nervous!” The curtain would open and she turned into a performer and we got lost in the dream together! After it was over, she cried because she didn’t want it to end.

My favorite part of the dance was when I caught her in my arms…climbing stairs made of dancers. Princess Diana said, “A mother’s arms are more comforting than anyone else’s.” I feel great comfort and contentment when she’s in my arms…dancing or not. 

Three generations of dancers wishing you a Happy Mother’s Day! We’re never too old or too young to dance. “You dance love, and you dance joy, and you dance dreams.” ~Gene Kelly

Related post:

Ten things I’ve learned from my Mom

*Photos by PJP