the next billy elliot

A couple of Sundays ago, Ignacio, my mom, and I took my 6 year-old nephew, Cooper, to see Billy Elliot. Even though the show is recommended for 8 and older, I thought Cooper would be okay because he really likes to dance and sing. He even asked to take dance class which I wrote about here.

The show was amazing, and made even better because Cooper sat on my lap the entire time (in order to see better) and I got the unique perspective of seeing this show through the eyes of a 6 year-old boy seeing his first Broadway in Chicago show.

Cooper asked A LOT of questions during the entire show. When the show opened, he said, “It’s real!” I think he was expecting to see a movie rather than real live human beings on the stage.

For those of you who may not be familiar with Billy Elliot, it is the story of a young boy growing up with his widower father and grandmother in a poor mining town in England. Billy happens into ballet class, loves it, and excels in it. His father disapproves of his son taking ballet lessons, and is also on strike from his mining job.

Cooper asked:

“Is Billy Elliot real?”

“What is a strike?”

“Why are they fighting?”

“Is he a bad guy?”

“Is the grandma evil, cuz she just gave the finger to God?”

“Why is Billy so mad?”

“Is his mom alive again?” (he didn’t understand that the woman playing Billy’s mom, while alive on stage, was really just an angel of sorts)

Great questions, right?

Cooper was bopping/dancing on my lap right along with Billy. The best part of the show came at the end when Cooper said:

“I wanna be Billy Elliot.”

When Anessa, my sister-in-law, came to pick him up from my house the next morning, Cooper was telling her about the show and how his favorite part was when Billy was dancing when he was angry.

Anessa asked, "Why was Billy angry?"
Cooper replied, "Because his dad wouldn't let him take ballet."
Anessa asked, "What would you do if your dad wouldn't let you take ballet?"
Cooper said, "My dad wouldn't do that, and if I did, I would take it anyway."

And, here is Cooper the next week showing off his moves (you’ll have to tilt your head, his dad took the movie).

Cooper dancing
click on the link

He's my Tiny Dancer

My brother, Tiger, is a football kind of guy.  The weekends of fall and winter are spent in front of the TV watching college and pro football.  We grew up watching pro football on Sundays, and I love it too.  Tiger played football his whole life, even a bit in college.  So, when he had his first child, Cooper, he couldn't wait until Cooper could watch, and eventually play football.  I remember Tiger telling me his dream came true the first time Cooper actually sat with Tiger and watched a game on TV.  Cooper is now six and is playing flag football for his second year.  He may be small, but he is mighty!

Although I am a football kind of gal, I also was a dancer my entire life (although my body sure doesn't look like it these days).  I have written quite a bit about how So You Think You Can Dance is my favorite TV show. 

This fall is the first time that So You Think You Can Dance is on in the fall rather than only the summer.  They started the season by showing the best of the past five seasons.  Tiger likes the show too, and he and Cooper were watching that show.  Cooper then told his dad, "I want to quit football and take dance lessons."

 {I will pause here for dramatic effect............Cooper wanted to quit football to...... DANCE!}

 Tiger told him that he could do both, and Cooper was fine with that.

Fast forward to me going to Cooper's house and giving him a dance lesson as well as babysitting for the evening.  I explained to Cooper that we had to do 15 minutes of ballet because ballet is the foundation of all other forms of dance, and he was cool with that.  Cooper wanted to take class in his backyard, so there we were doing our plies and releves and learning all the positions (which he still remembers, I might add).  Then, we put on the cool music and start learning a 'routine'.  I told him to practice it so we could add on later.

Later in the evening, I was putting Cooper and Carter to bed, and Carter was screaming "I don't want to take a nap!!!!!!!!!!"  And I am all, well that is a good thing because you are NOT taking a nap 'lil man, you are going to BED.  Then I moseyed across the hall and Cooper says, "you know Aunt Natalie, your dance steps were kinda weak." 

Oh yes he did.

I think that my favorite show has poisoned that child.  He wants to be able to do hip-hop with the best of them after one lesson, and he still has to learn first position and rhythm steps.  You have to learn how to crawl before you can run.  Besides, I don't know how to do hip-hop anyway.  Do you think I can talk him into a tap class?