Tag Archives: dance

Sometimes our life is so full of those moments when you say, “Man, I really want to remember this,” or “I have to write down what she said when we get home.” Of course, many of those moments never get recorded, being put off until they slowly fade from memory. And I think that’s okay because I certainly don’t want to miss those moments by worrying about how I’m going to remember them. I like to record things but I don’t want to be the dad that sees his kids growing up through the screen of the iPhone.

But I did want to take some time tonight to remember today. The afternoon was more hectic than usual (if that’s possible) because Sarah had to be somewhere and it was “open studio” night for Keana’s ballet class. This meant I had to take all three kids and keep two of them somewhat tame for an hour around dinner time. It turned out better than expected because both Maia and Aliya are in ballet too, so they enjoyed watching the older girls and practicing some of the moves they knew along with them. Not only that, but it was such a joy to see Keana practice. I don’t usually get to go and watch her, and she was amazing. Poised, confident, struggling, succeeding…it was such a gift to be able to take the time to really see what she does every Tuesday night in ballet class.

Continue reading Another Day to Remember →

development, education

Nothing Ever Stays the Same

October 5, 2013 Papi 2 Comments

I just realized that my last post was sort of a cliff-hanger. Keana did audition for the Nutcracker and despite not feeling very good about her performance in the hour-long audition, she got a part! She’ll be a “little mouse” in the December performances at the Saroyan Theater in downtown Fresno. After the initial excitement wore off, she began to feel nervous about learning her part, and now that a month has passed, she’s pretty much not thinking about it at all. Which is good, since rehearsals for her part don’t start for a few more weeks anyway. I know she’ll be great and we’re very excited to see her on a truly big stage.

The other interesting thing that’s been developing with Keana is her fear. I think as her understanding of the world develops, so does her understanding of the unknown and what’s possible, and it can be a little scary for her. For instance, she doesn’t like having the curtains open now when it gets dark. She doesn’t say particular reasons why, but she knows it scares her. Also, we started reading The Fellowship of the Ring, and even though it’s not as blatantly scary as some other books, she’s starting to understand all the darkness that Tolkien eludes to and is building up to. So tonight she said that we may not be able to finish this one now because it’s too scary, which is a first for her. And of course, it’s all good by me.

Continue reading Nothing Ever Stays the Same →

development

Auditions

September 7, 2013 Papi Leave a comment

Written at 11:30 a.m. earlier today.

We’re sitting here at the Fresno State performing arts wing, having just released our first-born into The Audition Room. It’s her first audition and Maia will be following her later today. They’re auditioning for The Nutcracker in December, and it’s been an interesting process getting here.

I spotted the flyer at their dance studio a couple weeks ago, and based on how much they’ve loved previous performance opportunities, I thought I should ask them about it. It was important that I didn’t pressure them but I do want to expose them to opportunities, and even gently push them to try new things. I think Sarah and I see eye-to-eye on this, which is good for the kids and good for our marriage [insert grin].

Continue reading Auditions →

development, education, family, photos, videos

Sharing Through Performance

Gallery May 14, 2013 Papi 2 Comments

As the end of the school year approaches, so do the performances. At this point we’re not performance heavy, but there’s still enough to keep us busy on these last few weekends before summer.

On April 25 Keana had her “Notables” “thing” which was a chance for all the second-graders to dress up like a famous person in history they had been learning about, and share a short spoken piece about their person. Being drawn to strong women, Keana chose Sacagawea and was especially excited about the dressing up part. We borrowed some authentic Native American pieces from Grandma Jennie and even wrapped up a little baby to further authenticate the performance. Learning about Sacagawea was also a great experience for Keana to process a different culture and a different place in history and amidst the sharing of facts that she learned along the way, she often had lots of questions about why certain things happened and why they’re different (or the same) now.

This last weekend, May 11, Maia performed in the California Arts Academy production of The Wizard of Oz. Keana and Maia are both in ballet, but the performance-specific class was only open for Maia’s category by the time we enrolled in January. Grandma Linda and Grandpa Sam drove over from Sacramento and from Fresno, Tia, Grandma Jennie, and Grandma Bev were all in attendance.

For her little performance as a flower in Munchkin Land, there sure were a lot of extra rehearsals. Maia absolutely loved every minute of it—especially the extra rehearsals at different locations—but I’m looking forward to her having a bigger part in the future. I know she’s only five, but she is really drawn to performing and seems to have a lot of natural talent. Most importantly, she loves it. It also doesn’t hurt that the teachers she’s had so far have been very impressed by her and encouraged her (and Keana too) to really pursue dancing. So we’ll see. Gotta keep my competitive nature in check, but still try and make these opportunities available for the girls…and maybe give them a little push to get out there.

Unfortunately we couldn’t tape Maia’s performance, but you’ll just have to imagine how adorable she was and what a joy she was to watch. Sarah and I both got a little teary-eyed for sure. I don’t think it matters what your kid is doing on that stage. For that brief moment it’s as if there’s a single spotlight and mic just for them. I think it’s an important skill to have—being able to perform in front of an audience—and I think it’s a great way for kids to share something they create with other kids and adults. Definitely looking forward to more of this.

Next up: “Authors Night” at Keana’s school where all the students share a book they’ve written and illustrated in a sort of book fair, open to the school community. Always one of Keana’s favorite school events.

All dressed up, with baby, ready for the show.

Sarah and Maia anxiously await Keana’s performance.

Aliya, all dressed up as a princess, ready for Maia’s performance in the Wizard of Oz.

development, education

First Dance Recitals and End of School

June 17, 2012 Papi 1 Comment

It seems fitting to write something about the latest goings on of Team Hokama on Father’s Day, so, um…here they are:

First Dance Recitals (photos and video from the dress rehearsal at the end)
The big news I’ve really been wanting to write about is Keana and Maia’s dance recitals that happened last Saturday (June 9). It was such a big a deal! Of course they were both rehearsing their routines months beforehand, and I was really glad that they still focused on the basics and didn’t spend all of every rehearsal learning the routine. There were fancy costumes though and of course the girls did their hair and makeup(!) for the recital. Man, they were talking bout the makeup alone for a full week before the thing.

Of course, this sort of thing conjures up all kinds of issues as a parent. Is all this appropriate for kids this age? Maia’s dance was to Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend and part of me wanted to just enjoy it for the cutesy number it was meant to be, and part of me thought we were doing a grave injustice to Maia and women everywhere by allowing her to participate in something so sexist, materialistic, and outright dated. Sarah and I talked about it and in the end we figured what was the harm in something that Maia was so clearly enjoying and maybe it didn’t have to be anything more than just a cutesy number.

Keana danced to a somewhat generic piece called Music Box Dancer and the choreography was more classically ballet as far as I could tell. She was still dressed to the hilt in pink, sparkly, froofiness and again, we questioned if we were bad parents for participating in this stereotypic socialization of our little girls. I know it will be something we grapple with for a while, but this time, we let it go and just let the girls have fun. They’re 4 and 7. They like to dance. They like pink sparkliness. It is what it is.

The day of the recital was very exciting to say the least. We woke early to do hair and makeup for the dress rehearsal. Maia went on at 9 a.m. and Keana at 10 a.m. The recital was at the CUSD Performing Arts Center which was beautiful; new, modern, great stage, lighting effects and everything. I was very impressed and proud we could provide such a great performance opportunity for their very first recital. They were both a little nervous, Keana more so than Maia, but they both got up there and did very well. After their run-throughs, we went back to their dance studio which was about 10 minutes away for pictures. After the madness of pictures, we headed home for a few hours before heading back to the recital hall at 3:15 p.m. for the performance, which started at 4 p.m.

The studio was very organized, keeping all the kids backstage for the whole thing, entertained with various art stations and things for the kids to do between performances. The grandparents—Jennie, Robert, and Cin—met us there and we got great seats in the middle, far enough back from the stage to see everything clearly. When Maia came on my heart jumped and any doubt I had about letting her perform was instantly washed away. She was even better in the performance than I had every seen her and she was so alive on stage. Both Sarah and I were definitely teary-eyed.

We had to wait till after intermission for Keana to take the stage but again, any doubt I had about her performing was gone the instant she made her first move. She too was even better in the performance than I had seen her perform before and she seemed more relaxed than in the dress rehearsal too. Sarah and I weren’t going to spring for the professionally recorded video, but after seeing them live, we couldn’t resist.

Of course we took family photos and all went out to a celebratory dinner after. What a joy-filled day. There was some anxiety, but mostly it was just pure fun for the girls and they both can’t wait for the next one. At the end of the day it was a good reminder that sometimes as a parent, you have to just let go and not worry so much about whether or not you’re scarring your kids for life. There will be plenty of time for them to “fight the power” and right now may not be it.

End of School
School’s out! Keana is now officially on summer break and ready for second grade (but not quite yet!). It was a long, fun, tough, exciting, tiring year and we were all ready for it to end. Of course, once it was over, Keana instantly missed her teacher and friends but we’re going to make an effort to keep her social this summer between our family plans. It is really amazing how much she learned this year. Everything she learned—reading, writing, math, social studies—was leagues beyond what I remember doing in even second grade. We want to keep an eye out for burnout, and are still evaluating if the academically intensive nature of the school is really good for her, but right now, we’re just enjoying summer, which officially starts tomorrow for her. And I will happily let our hard-working Keansta Monsta sleep in on her first Monday off.

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