Rehearsal...

Haley and Dylan had a rehearsal for their upcoming talent show on Thursday night. They are one of the only child acts (the other being a 9yo doing karate). Eighteen of the 27 acts are singers and there are a handful of dancers and musicians. Many of the acts were very good and I can't imagine how the judges will pick a final winner. I don't know how you can chose between a great musician and a great dancer but I guess that will be left for someone else to decide.

While we were waiting for things to get started, I overheard one of the audition judges telling the sound technician that he had to hear "the little 5yo we have playing fiddle. She's adorable and really good." Then he noticed us sitting fairly nearby and pointed her out. When Haley and Dylan walked up to the stage to rehearse, there was a room full of "awws" and "how cutes." The minute they started playing there was a room full of jaws hanging on the floor and the cheers and claps when they finished were the loudest of the night.

We could have left after the kids finished but Haley was insistant about staying to listen to all the singers. She was so into, judging who was good and not so great. She was always right on with her opinions as far as I was concerned. It was a fun night.

On Friday, Haley had violin lessons right before the Friday @ Four concert. She was expected to play the first two Book 2 pieces at the concert but when her teacher heard her playing Hunter's Chorus, she decided that it was ready for a public debut as well. She helped Haley fix a couple tiny details and Haley played all 3 songs for the concert. A number of parents of older violists asked me how old Haley was and exclaimed that she had learned those songs so quickly having just completed Book 1. I really wished I could ask them what their children played at what ages just to give myself an idea of the timelines of some of the children whose playing I admire now but I am afraid my questions will seem more like bragging than the general curiosity of another parent who is trying to figure out what to expect in the future.