We were finally able to attend the demo Mixed Ages class at the Princeton Lab East Brunswick location today. We've had to reschedule twice due to inclement weather and canceled classes so I'm doubly glad that I didn't sign us up for Winter Session. Also...did I mention there are 6 toddlers in the class? While I'm glad Tess has her shots up to date, I am happy to wait until after cold/flu season has run its course before making a commitment to routinely expose her to other kids' germs. But for today, everyone seemed happy and healthy. I brought my own blanket and rattle, just in case.
I knew more or less what to expect in terms of format from speaking with my Aunt Karen who owns her own Music Together franchise in Massachusetts. She couldn't say enough about the benefits of starting babies early, even if it might feel a little silly at times. She encouraged me to skip the babies classes and go for Mixed Ages because of the cognitive benefits to Tess being around older children. A semester of classes was her baby gift to us so she instructed me to research the most convenient location and attend a preview before making the final decision to enroll in the spring. Can't beat the commute! It's a 10 min drive out toward Oscar's vet and located just down the road from the Starbucks with the drive-through. (Lucky Mama.)
Boy, am I glad I decided to have that cup of coffee this morning. Classes are held in a dance studio next to the local Y. Now this isn't your average small-town dance studio. It's called Center Stage, scrawled in purple, jaunty font across the marquee. First of all, the space is so large that it's in an industrial park adjacent to a stone mason and something to do with plexiglass. Secondly, the windows are tinted so you can't see inside and I had no idea if the lights were on or if the door was unlocked from looking at it. You step into the lobby and there's an actual reception desk and signs pointing to male and female locker rooms, and all kinds of doors leading to various styles of studios (Tap A, Tap B, Ballet A, Ballet B, Jazz A, Jazz B, Gymnastics, Vocal Music, Stage Door, etc.) It was like landing in technicolor Oz. Holy cow, I suddenly wish I had stuck with dance because something about this level of unabashed competition just makes my pulse quicken and I get so excited that I can live vicariously through my own daughter when she -- oh, I'm just kidding.
But seriously, when Tempest is old enough, provided she has an interest, this is exactly the kind of place I'll take her first. Go big or go home. There were trophies prominently displayed, articles about that show "Dance Moms" because apparently in 2012, this place was featured -- which is kind of scary but it tells you how serious these tiny dancers are -- and information about their many performative offerings. They have posters of kids of both genders doing jazz hands and others featuring very young girls wearing far too many cosmetics, advertizing their "companies" (which is code for ability level-segregated classes.)
Before this post gets too far away from me (too late?) I have a confession: being in this performance mecca as a mom for the very first time brought out all kinds of feels. Parenthood continues to surprise me. Things you thought you were over or otherwise don't really think about on a daily basis bubble to the surface when you're looking at your own progeny and her future in a setting all-too familiar to you. Me? I loved tap. Loved the steps, the music, the fun (compared to ballet.) It was freedom and rhythm and athletic grace. Unfortunately, we kept moving during my formative years so I never got to stick with it consistently enough to progress so I switched my focus to ball sports and excelled there. I continued to perform in the theater but I know I could've been a triple threat, had I stuck with dance. Le sigh. I know the day will come when Tess will become a verbal child and she may ask to dance. If she does, she's going to try it all so that when she's old enough, she can choose whatever form of bodily expression suits her.
I digress. The reason I found myself at Center Stage with my almost-five-month-old: a mellow, welcoming, brain-boosting music class aimed at ages 0-3. No competition, no strings, just mama and baby out for a morning class.
Most of the other moms smiled, or at least made eye contact with me and cleared a place on the mat. One took it upon herself to tell me that my baby was cold because she was shivering. I very calmly explained that Tempest "shakes with excitement" in new situations, thankssomuchtho.
The first five minutes were like living in a Raffi music video and I didn't know if I had what it would take to keep it together. I can be a champion ham-bone with Tess in my own home but in a room full of strangers, it seemed very out-of-body. I quickly got over it. After all, it's like the first day of a new acting workshop where everyone is silently evaluating everyone else and you don't want to be the lame kid who doesn't fully participate.
The instructor was a sweet-faced pregnant lady with a ukelele - yes, a ukelele - like something out of Sesame Street. The other moms knew the tunes and were clapping along while their toddlers seemed to whirl around to their own personal beats. There was a Cassandra, an Abigail, a boy named Effe (sp?), Aviva, Benji, and Narashti (such a helpful mom she has) and Aviva's little brother, 7-month-old Ishmael, (they called him "Ishy") who was the closest in age to Tess. Tess was more interested in 2-year-old Benji who gave quite the Tasmanian Devil impersonation, catapulting his body around the mat in between songs and trying to put his fist through the large drum in the center of the circle. His mother looked too exhausted to do much about it. Observation of toddlers: holy crap, is this what they're all like?
The class incorporates 45 minutes of music beginning with the roll-call "Hello, Everybody" song (so peppy, I'm literally still humming it) and various call-and-response songs with accompanying motions. Tess was all smiles watching the teacher with her exaggerated theatrical delivery. She was wonderful. From what I gather, when you sign up for the 10 weeks, you get a CD and song book to learn along with your child and they cycle through those exclusive songs for that entire semester so the lyrics and movement become familiar. Some are relatively famous ("My Bonny," "Des Colores," which was difficult to make out over the furious shaking of maracas) and others seem like Music Together originals. They all incorporate some element of music theory like tempo, pitch, rhythm, and are quite multicultural. There was some African music, some Spanish, French, Olde English folk tunes. It was clear that Tess was having a grand old time, even if we had to modify some activities since she's not walking (or jumping) yet. She may not be able to sing but she can blow spit bubbles and squeal like a champ.
About 30 minutes in, it became clear that every child over the age of, oh, 7 months, had checked out and would rather be running around the room, jumping over the hula hoops splayed out. This is also good to know for the future. Attention spans: extremely limited.
After the goodbye song, there was more disinfecting of instruments (did I mention that sanitary wipes are passed out after every song so you can wipe down your props?) and that was it. Music Together: mission accomplished. I think our by then 7-month-old will very much enjoy her musical education.
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