Recently, one of the younger boys, Luis who is 5, had an end of the year performance at school. The performance was a Russian dance done by about 12 boys and girls all about the age of 5. It was pretty great to witness and be there to support Luis.

I remember when I was growing up and if I had a school performance or a sporting event I was doing, the only thing besides winning that mattered was having a parent in the crowd to see me perform, whatever it was I was doing. As I grew older, it was me doing flips on my rollerblades over ramps at the skate park, which normally caused my Mom or Dad to close their eyes in fear that I might break something (which I almost did a lot). No matter what it was I did growing up, I remember I wanted my parents to be there and be proud of what I was doing. I can remember waiting to make sure they were watching or waiting anxiously hoping to spot them so they could see me do my thing. Those moments meant a lot.

At first I didn’t really want to get out of bed to go and take pictures of 5 year olds doing some dance for an end of the year performance. But my attitude changed after I saw Luis in his outfit. He was ridiculously cute! He is normally cute when he isn’t all dressed up, so in his outfit he was over the top. The school is not that far away: it’s only about 3 minute walk down the road. When we arrived at the school, everyone was anxiously waiting with big grins in anticipation of all the cute kids dressed up for their scheduled performance. Luis and his class performed a Russian dance. I’m not sure why. Maybe they drew the short straw when it came to selecting performances, and the nativity story was already taken. It’s anyone’s guess as to why they did the Russian Dance.

None the less, they came out first, the boys in their furry black hats with red vests and red pants, the girls in beautiful red dresses, and performed a Russian dance like only 5 year olds can. The teacher stood to the side of the crowd and acted out the motions, and the kids kept their eyes glued to her and managed to pull off a fairly coordinated dance. Some kids trailed off and lost track of what they were doing, but it only made you laugh more.

In the end, it was perfect, and I felt overwhelmed with joy for Luis. I was happy to attend his performance whether it was a big deal for him or not. Although I’m not Luis’ real parent, I was happy to be there to support him and be the proud person with the camera.  Enjoy the photos from Luis’ performance.