“Hands on hips! Smiles on Lips!” This was our mantra for our combined dress rehearsal for Dance for Fitness.  PTM students at Park Ave and St Luke have been learning about fitness and healthy eating all school year and are working on a dance routine for a showcase performance in May. Well, we wanted to get both teams together for a final practice before the show to give them a “Dress Rehearsal” experience. Each of the girls were given their showcase outfits; gray PTM shirts tied in the back and sleeves capped, bright pink or orange shorts, white bobbie socks, and a bright pink or orange hairbow.

“Hands on hips! Smiles on Lips!”  The girls were so excited! Getting them to meet each other and walk through a dress rehearsal together really made it come alive for them. They were able to walk into the sanctuary and stand in front of a live audience and perform! And it really gave them an excited anticipation for the showcase performance on May 16th.

Then we had a devotion time all together led by Miss Anna Margaret, the Dance for Fitness instructor. We gave Miss Anna the orange and pink flowers and she was so touched! We did a couple of PTM cheers and that made her cry!

My favorite part was the bathroom chaos at the end of the day. How do you get 14 little girls all changed out of their costumes and back into school clothes after getting hot and sweaty from dancing? You stick them in the bathroom 5 at a time and let them figure it out.

Yes, there were bobbie socks and bows flying, but there was such a fabulous chatter as well. Girls helping other girls with the hair ties on the back of their shirts, girls helping other girls find the “other” sock. (Actual quote, “Girl, we gotta find that other sock. If you hand Miss Lisa 1 sock, she gonna kill you! We need those for the performance!” and “Don’t worry, girl, just ask Miss Lisa for some panties, she always carries extras in her purse.”) Yup, that’s true.

You see, girls don’t always get opportunities like this because there aren’t alot of team sports for under-privileged young girls. Dance classes, theater workshops, or any performance based activity is expensive. So having Dane for Fitness for these girls is so important because it gives them that “team sport” experience. Having a lot of silliness and bathroom camaraderie is equally important!! It’s all part of getting these young ladies to move their perspective from “me to we”. I am really really thankful that I have a team around me that supports my silly little ideas.