There sat the two old parents now and did not know what they do now….
That’s how we felt at first on this weekend in February 2022. The first weekend in 2.5 years “child-free” (including 1.5 years 24/7 squatting on each other). A really weird feeling! The first competition of Ballet Folklorico took place in Bastrop and the result reminded us of some movies…
In December of last year, the competitions for the Competition Team took place, and Celina took part in such an event for the first time. It was perhaps not the best choice on the part of the selection committee that she had to be the first to do the demonstrations and didn’t know what to do. It would have been better to start with someone who has done it before. There were enough experienced candidates. And so it came as it had to come… the same evening, the list of results arrived, and she was not selected. A world collapsed, and we couldn’t really hold back either. So we wrote to the director to question the reasons and to express our disappointment. We did this emotionally in our still German way, but on the following Monday, all non-nominated participants of the selection process were suddenly accepted into the competition team. What a surprise…
Actually, we had tried to convince Celina that she should do without it, but she was determined to go through with it. She must have gotten this stubbornness from us… Then she has to do it and live with the consequences! And it had to be clear to her that there could well be harassment during the daily training sessions. Fortunately, this was not the case. It was only noticeable that the three subsequently nominated ladies were put into a single team and had to train alone in the hallway. That was already a bit unpleasant for the three, but they had decided. “We’ll show you!” So they trained essentially for themselves and looked over the somewhat limited interest of the other group members. Moreover, the small group had been assigned the dance that the others did not want to do. They were only included in the big group dances.
The competition came, and the whole troop drove to Bastrop. First, they checked into the hotel, and then they went straight to the venue. Between the individual competitions, training continued, but fun was not neglected either. Celina and her team went there without any expectations. The motto was: Being there is everything!
The whole weekend the different competitions took place, and the girls were all pretty exhausted. Actually, they were supposed to sleep in the hotel, but they partied. Well, who would have expected anything else… On Sunday evening, the results were announced, and everyone could hardly believe it. The trio that was not supposed to come won 1st place in its category! The group dance in which the three latecomers danced won 2nd place in their category and the big group dance in which all dancers competed won 1st place. No one would have expected that, and it was like an inner walk-by for the three of them! It was truly cinematic. The underdogs won in their categories. And it shows once again that giving up is not an option, and perseverance can pay off.
And the old parents? They took advantage of the time and went out for a leisurely meal on Saturday. And on Sunday, contrary to the original announcement, we visited Bastrop to provide moral support.
Sunday night, around 9 pm, the team ended up back at Austin High School, where we picked up Celina. But the ladies had to celebrate in the parking lot first.
And with that, an eventful and, above all, the successful weekend ended, especially for Celina. Only good that the following Monday was free of school… we would never have gotten our little child out of bed early!