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A girl and a balloon.

VioletHaze_03

VioletHaze_03

Nerdling (Fledgling nerd)
This may seem like a small detail in a petty story, but i think it should be shared. My dance recital was a few days ago and as always, it is a HUGE operation. Hundreds of kids attend dance classes at three different studios, and this is a monumental task for the company to organize. My favourite part of this is taking a break from waiting for my dance to start by looking at all the costumes, and of course, watching all the numbers. Me and my mother had woke up early so i could get my makeup done (by a professional, of course, both of us gave up on doing it at home a looong time ago.) we arrived at the very first number, and after quickly getting changed we decided to watch the action. It always starts with the little girls dances, and it's fun to watch them skitter around the stage. However, there was one little girl that captured both of our hearts. When her posse walked onto the stage like pre-school drama queens, she half heartedly stuck with the group, then wandered over to a balloon at the side of the stage. She played with the balloon string the whole time, and would slap at the older girls who tried to lead her away. My mom was staring at that poor little girl the whole time while the audience laughed. She kept whispering "don't fall off the stage" and "someone cut the balloon already!" she told me i was like that when i was little, always wondering away. She was certain the girl was on the spectrum, and felt sorry for her mother. I was enjoying the performance, it made me feel nostalgic of all the stages i'd wandered around when i was that young. It also made me wonder about the reaction of the NT audience. Probably thought nothing of it, you can't expect too much at that age (since the numbers go from youngest to oldest, i'd suspect she'd be 2 1/2 to 3 years old). So, story aside, my question for you, dear reader, is this: if you had a pair of scissors, would you cut the balloon? Or would you try to lead her to the other dancers and tell her to stop staring at it?
 
I think I probably would just let her get on with it! But then again I have no idea on how to handle children at that age as an adult or as a teacher.
 
VioletHaze_03 said:
This may seem like a small detail in a petty story, but i think it should be shared. My dance recital was a few days ago and as always, it is a HUGE operation. Hundreds of kids attend dance classes at three different studios, and this is a monumental task for the company to organize. My favourite part of this is taking a break from waiting for my dance to start by looking at all the costumes, and of course, watching all the numbers. Me and my mother had woke up early so i could get my makeup done (by a professional, of course, both of us gave up on doing it at home a looong time ago.) we arrived at the very first number, and after quickly getting changed we decided to watch the action. It always starts with the little girls dances, and it's fun to watch them skitter around the stage. However, there was one little girl that captured both of our hearts. When her posse walked onto the stage like pre-school drama queens, she half heartedly stuck with the group, then wandered over to a balloon at the side of the stage. She played with the balloon string the whole time, and would slap at the older girls who tried to lead her away. My mom was staring at that poor little girl the whole time while the audience laughed. She kept whispering "don't fall off the stage" and "someone cut the balloon already!" she told me i was like that when i was little, always wondering away. She was certain the girl was on the spectrum, and felt sorry for her mother. I was enjoying the performance, it made me feel nostalgic of all the stages i'd wandered around when i was that young. It also made me wonder about the reaction of the NT audience. Probably thought nothing of it, you can't expect too much at that age (since the numbers go from youngest to oldest, i'd suspect she'd be 2 1/2 to 3 years old). So, story aside, my question for you, dear reader, is this: if you had a pair of scissors, would you cut the balloon? Or would you try to lead her to the other dancers and tell her to stop staring at it?
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I would have just let her be. I think she was doing what was best for herself in that situation, maybe her mom would gain deeper understanding into that child's needs and desires based on observing her behavior. I'm guessing the NT audience simply thought it was cute and funny, they probably would not have guessed if the child was on the spectrum.
 
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