Lucas took his first hip hop class during a summer camp when he was 5. He was hooked. He started dancing competitively at 10. And by competitively I mean a whole lot of rehearsal, a whole lot of practice, a whole lot of time and seemingly very little performance. To be honest I didn’t really get it. Dance was expensive, required long hours and while he was having fun I questioned the whole dance racket. He had the opportunity to attend conventions and competitions that exposed him to world-renowned choreographers and different styles of dance but I wondered how much he was getting out of all of it, did he love dance or just love hanging with his friends?

Lucas performing in his first season, age 10

His second year he wanted to quit. Something he loved so much he now wanted to walk away from, with no explanation. I contemplated it, honestly the time and money dance requires was something I’d welcome back. But I couldn’t let him quit. In his second year I started to see his maturity and skills grow, all the hours of practice and rehearsal I started to understand. He was growing into a dancer, a performer.  Halfway through his third year I finally got to see him perform at his first competition of the season. And wow, has my son grown. Seeing him on stage there is no doubt in my mind that that is where he belongs. A dancer. A performer. My son.

“Game Over”

“Mad Tea Party”

The title of this post is the same name as Lucas’ YouTube channel.