San Francisco Part V: Awards

Awards Ceremony

This was what we did much of the day on Saturday.  Wait.  I was worried about taking her because I knew there would be a lot of sitting.  Although she got bored, she never complained, whined or acted up.  She did a pretty good job of entertaining herself.

On the way to the theater, Isaac gave me a gentle reminder.  "Mom, we are not in this for the gold, we are just trying to get into a good summer intensive."  Okay.  That's right.  It helped me put things back into perspective and I settled down.

We found our seats in the theater and waited for the awards ceremony to begin.  They had all of the participants on the stage at the beginning so I snapped a shot of our boy, figuring it would be the only time he was going to be up there that night.

He came and sat by me while they took care of some business and awarded model scholarships (for which Isaac did not audition).

Then, 

And the Top Twelve for Contemporary in the Junior Division . . .

they named two or three names and I couldn't stop my heart from thudding.
Then they announced,

. . . Isaac Sanders . . .

I couldn't believe it.  I'm afraid I gasped and looked at Isaac with shocked eyes.

This was yet another confirmation that we have put our trust in the right coaches.
Thank you, Sergiu Brindusa and Beth Moore for your expertise and devotion.

Top Twelve.  They are not put in order, so he could have been 4th, he could have been 12th.

He was already on stage, then, when they called the Top 12 names for the classical category.  When his name wasn't called, I wasn't completely surprised, though a bit disappointed.

His name was called next, however, for 3rd place!

What?  Third place?
All of the emotions of the weekend burst out of my eyes as I buried my head in my hands and cried like a baby.  I am a crier anyway, but with the addition of my crazy pregnancy hormones, it was a bit of a flood.

Incidentally, that row of people up there are stage are big wigs in the ballet world.  We're talking Bolshoi, Royal, Houston, New York, and so on.  Principals and artistic directors from some of the best ballet companies in the world.

He did it, he did it!  We are so proud of him!
Congratulations, son.