In this dance recital from 2015, you can tell the little girl on the far right is incredibly excited to be performing at her spring recital in Middletown Township, Pennsylvania. Throughout their performance, her movements are dramatic and elegant – until she takes a bit of a tumble, that is. However, she doesn’t let her mistake stop her from putting on an excellent show. Instead of taking the fall and feeling bad, she turns their ballet recital into a freestyle dance routine. She brought out her best breakdance moves and even performed a song for the audience before she and the other girls skipped off the stage
Performing in front of a crowd, no matter the size can be enough to make even an adult nervous. Making a mistake while doing so is often enough to make full-grown adults cry. The fact this young girl had the guts to turn what could have been a heartwrenching mistake into an awesome and adorable improvised routine is incredible. Children often feel pressured, either from their parents, students, or instructors, to perform perfectly in front of a crowd. It’s hard to say exactly where this pressure comes from, but this little girl didn’t let the need to be perfect get her down
When she fell, there was a split second in which you could see her making a decision. Within a moment, she was on the ground, performing some intricate breakdance moves that might just rival some professionals. The other girls on stage were clearly confused, falling off their overall routine to watch their dance partner absolutely take the stage.
Once the little girl realized she was the one in control of the show now, she made another interesting choice. She started singing, continuing to dance to the beat of her own drum and encouraging the other girls to join in. After a few confused moments, the other girls were also singing along as they performed to one of the best songs from The Land Before Time. As she continues to dance, she and the other girls sing. They’re all slightly confused as to what’s happened, but they follow her lead.
As the song comes to an end, all four girls skip off stage – but not before you can see the confused look a few of them shared. Clearly, no one quite expected an ad-libbed performance like this. However, it takes some real spunk and courage to decide to make the best out of what could have been an embarrassing situation.
Next time you take a fall or make a mistake, keep this little girl in mind. She was so enthusiastic from the beginning of the performance clip all the way through to the end, performing in a way that was almost over the top. When she fell, she got right back up and made the most of it, and she absolutely stole the show. It’s so easy to make simple mistakes from time to time, but she didn’t seem to care. She danced like no one was watching while in front of a crowd and didn’t let anything stop her. Realistically, we could likely all take a couple of lessons from that kid – both on life and on dance, if we’re being honest.