A show where everyone is 'the best'

This is for all of you dance moms and dads — and dance Grammys and Papas — out there. Years ago, my wife Jody and I used to take our three daughters to the The Moving Company School of Dance in Sandusky, week after week, to practice and learn a valuable skill. We would drop them off then usually head down to Hill's Department Store in the old Perkins Plaza. The main reason we went to Hill's is they would hand out free popcorn to eat while you shopped. The store is no longer there, but I sure do have a lot of good memories. I think dance lessons were one of the best things we did for the girls. Dancing is great for athletes as they develop their skills. I think all athletes should be involved in some kind of dance. So as the year went on, it was tough some nights getting them all ready for dance. It was not easy, and it wasn't meant to be. It all culminated in the big dance recital at the end of the year. Live everything else, when you have three girls participating, the price went up by three. That meant at least three dance outfits, and usually more because the girls were in more than one class. When the big day arrived and the recital was set for the State Theatre in downtown Sandusky, it meant getting the whole crew together for the big day. Just like the old Norwalk Theatre, I love the State Theatre. It was like a blast from the past when we would go to the Civic Theater in downtown Farmington, Mich., to watch a movie. It will be great when the two old theaters are back in business. Hat's off to everybody who is working hard to make that happen both in Norwalk and Sandusky. Dancing is not like volleyball or basketball or softball, when you can be up close to the action. You usually are sitting back in a dark theater watching 15 to 20 girls dance on the stage. There are no numbers or names on their outfits to tell the girls apart. To the untrained eye they all look alike. They come out on stage, do their thing and a couple of minutes later they are done. Blink and you will miss it. Jody and I started round No. 2 on Saturday, as we got to watch our granddaughter, Finley, perform in her first show at Elyria High School. Jody took her to practice on Friday night so she was able to keep me posted on what was happening next. After a while it seemed like there were about 4,000 girls (and a few boys) coming on and off the stage to do their thing. Really, it was like a hundred dancers — but it just seemed like more. Finally, when Finley came out, thousands of memories flashed through my head. Like her mother and two aunts, Finley was great. Perfect? No. But she was great. Being the great Papa that I am, and remembering our Moving Company days, I stopped at Schild's IGA Saturday morning and picked up a bouquet of flowers. The best part of the whole day was giving Finley the flowers after the show. And I was not alone. Proud mothers and fathers and grandparents filled the auditorium to watch the girls and boys perform. Who was the best? That is easy. Whoever you went to see was the best. In this case, everybody is a winner. And that is the way it should be. While our girls spent a lot of time in dance classes, they were never in competition dancing. That is like dancing on steroids. Just ask Reflector Sports Editor Mark Hazelwood and his wife, Megan. They've traveled across the state and country watching their daughter, Chloe, perform for years. Our publisher, Jeremy Speer, will be in Sandusky this week watching his daughter compete in a big show. They make shows about dance moms. Some dance parents have to take out a second mortgage. These people come to win, and second place sometimes just isn't good enough. I am happy right where I am (right now) with one big show at the end of the year where everybody can sit back, relax, and know the person they are watching is the best one out there. All I need now is a bag of free popcorn from Hill's. Joe Centers is Reflector community editor. He can be reached at jcenters@norwalkreflector.com.