DD's dance performance at theatre

[TheCleaningQueen]

Just wondered what others thought.....DD aged almost 5 went to dance at a theatre today with her ballet class...I was so proud but slightly taken aback at how emotional I felt seeing my girl on stage dancing....anyway her dance was near the beginning and we were allowed to go and collect the preschool girls after their dance so they could watch the rest of the performance.....nice to do if they have never been to a theatre before and logical since they were then not on again until the finale almost 2 hours later.

Anyway two of the other mums sat a row behind and watched the whole performance leaving their girls in the care of a chaperone backstage until it all finished. One of these mums works full time and is away a lot, a single parent. I know her DD misses her loads and always seems understandably to want to be with her when her mum is at home. This mum I also know seems to want to leave her DD at any available opportunity e.g. parties when usual for parent to stay, gets other mums to take her for the weekend/preschool trips etc. Slightly unfair on the poor child?

[HidinginaHardHat]

Judgemental much?

[WriterofDreams]

Mind your own business.

[xstitch]

At the dance school my dd goes to the parents are only allowed back stage for the pre-schoolers.

[pinkdelight]

Very judgmental. She knows her child. Perhaps she'd get bored sitting watching for so long and would be better off with chaperone. It's not unfair. It's none of your business. Or mine, for that matter

[KangarooCaught]

So many reasons why they might not have done, including perhaps not knowing that they could collect their child or when they would be required to go on again. Not all parents know this stuff.

[EvilTwins]

I have 5yr old ballet dancing DDs. In that situation, I would expect them to want to stay backstage with their ballet chums and soak up the excitement of it all - I certainly would have done at that age. Anyway, my girls have been to the theatre a number of times - you seem to imply that this was an ideal opportunity to introduce a child to the concept of watching a performance and are therefore suggesting that this dreadful other mother was denying her DD the chance to get her first go at being in an audience. For all you know, they're off to see shows all the time.

One of the things I like least about my girls' ballet school is the smug mummies who glare at my friend and I because we dare to go off for a coffee whilst the class is on, rather than sitting in the changing room for 40 minutes to wait.

My DDs could have been in a show this weekend (or next - not entirely sure) but it was past their bedtime on a Sunday evening, so I'm not letting them be in it at all - I dread to think what you'll make of that OP.

[elphabadefiesgravity]

As a chaperone and a mum of a dancing dd it is actually far easier to have the children stay backstage until the end of the show or the interval for the babies (3-4 year olds).

I arranged for dd to be collected at the interval of her last dance show (as I was chaperoning I was there until the end) and she begged ot be allowed to stay each night.

Collecting younger children early is a concession to those whose parents feel that are too young to stay backstage. It is entirely normal fpr parents not to colect them.

You are being judgmental.

[cory]

agree with others; my dd would have wanted to stay backstage at that age

and not every nearly-5-yo has never been to a theatre before: mine certainly had and thought backstage was far more exciting than being in the audience

[Sassybeast]

Stone the bitch.

[worraliberty]

Bloody hell...she knows her own child!

[manicinsomniac]

I would never collect my girls from backstage in the middle of a show.

Being backstage is part of the experience of theatre.

[catsareevil]

You are being judgemental. The backstage bit is fun. I know that my DDs, given the choice, would prefer to be backstage with their mates rather than sitting with their tragically uncool parents.

[Groovee]

YABU

Thankfully at our dance school all the mums left their children until the interval. Means the dancers on stage aren't being disrupted during their dances and their parents don't get miffed off with the parents who must collect their precious performer and always sit in the middle of bloody rows and then have make so much noise coming back in.

[TheCleaningQueen]

Thanks for your comments. I was slightly taken aback at the harshness of some of them but appreciate your honesty. Makes me realise how sheltered a life we lead!

[Hebrewlass]

DD is 5 yrs old. I nip out for coffee too in lessons and parents are not allowed back stage in shows. Hooray for independent mothers and daughters.

[EvilTwins]

Hebrewlass

I'm in the minority at DD's dance school [don't care though emoticon]

[Portofino]

We don't get a choice at dd's dance show. Drop off at say, 4pm for last rehearsal, show at 5.30, collect afterwards. The staff are putting on a show, they don't have lots of time to pander to individual parents....

[Sassybeast]

Intrigued by the 'sheltered life ' comment. Is it because you don't know any 'whispers' SINGLE MOTHERS, or even worse -'working mothers'. Presumably the other one wasn't a single, working mother so she wasn't quite so evil ?

[magicmummy1]

Sorry, but you sound like a small-minded judgemental gossip. WTF does it have to do with you anyway?

[ZXEightyMum]

DD was in a show today and the little ones stayed for the duration. I imagine there was quite enough to do backstage without doing hand-overs and worrying about the safety of the children. Easier to corral them all.

I'd have been mightily pissed off with constant interruptions if I had been the parent of one of the older ones who had difficult solo songs too. I had to go out to wee just before Rizzo's song in Grease, was ten seconds but I wasn't going to open that door and distract the girl mid-song even though a few other people didn't care

[cory]

Am also a bit surprised by the "sheltered life" comment. As far as I can see, what most of us did was to point out that most of our dd's loved being backstage at their drama performances; some of us also have experience of being chaperones- is this some kind of wild, low life, then?

and fwiw parents were only allowed in during dance lessons once a term at dd's dance school