Denver International Bash

Today was soooo much fun! Kendall's future school had their annual Denver International Bash today, which I believe helps to get them more exposure and raise school funds. I took way too many pictures but I thought you might appreciate them :)

Here are the kids from the pre-K Spanish class dancing


Chinese dragon parading down the street


Another Chinese dragon.


The instruments helped to provide the music for the performers.


Performing on stage and down where the audience sat


Here are a couple of students from the Mandarin program doing their Kung Fu exercises


That will be Kendall and Vaughn in a couple of years. I hope they don't turn their Kung Fu on each other!


Here are the students from the pre-K Mandarin program doing their exercises. The teacher explained that in China, all the students are required to do these exercises every morning before beginning class. So these students are required to do the same. They were also shouting out something in Mandarin but I have no idea what it meant. Maybe they were counting??


Here is a Flamenco dancer using castanets. I really loved this performance. It was just so beautiful. I loved everything about it. I loved the way the dress moved as she would kick her leg up in the air, and then catch her ruffled skirt in one hand and proceed to sway it from left to right and back again. I loved the way she would stomp her heels to the music's beat and ohhh the castanets! I want to get me a pair of castanets! She played them so well. I tried to watch her hands and figure out how the heck she was making them beat so fast and the only thing I could tell was she was sort of drumming her fingers, like the way you would do on a table when you're bored. I also loved the way she arched her arms and back like a ballerina. In another life, I think I would have been a Flamenco dancer :)


Here she is performing with a fan. That was cool too. She would snap it open quick and hard which had a very sharp, dramatic effect.


When I was finally able to drag myself away from the performance area, Kendall and Vaughn got to enjoy this inflatable bouncy thing. There was a time limit because so many kids wanted to get on.


I liked it because it didn't have a roof on it like most other bouncy castles, so the parents could interact even more with their kids.


Poor little Vaughn kept falling down because of all the bouncing that was going on. Almost every time he'd tried to get up, he'd just fall back down again. It didn't matter though. He always had a smile on his face.


Someone from the Butterfly Pavilion was there and brought some creepy crawly creatures with her to show the kids. That was a big hit. Have you seen one of those insects that look like sticks? Well, they had one that looked like that except instead of sticks, it was leaves. It was just the cutest thing (if those creepy crawly things could ever be cute!). The lady explained that when they aren't crawling around, they'll just stand there and sway side to side like a leaf, which helps camouflage them even more, as that is their only defense mechanism. Fascinating! It's face looked a little like a pug too!


To my delight, the Cherry Creek Dance Company performers were there too! They are from the same studio where Kendall takes her dance classes. This entourage is made up of kids from 6 to 18 and they travel all over the place performing, which definitely is good advertising. After their performances, the owner of the studio called all the kids up on stage to join in the fun and dance. Kendall got on stage and danced (but she wouldn't do it without me). The stage was just packed with kids dancing to music from High School Musical. During the last song, the CCDC performers passed out little flyers advertising the dance studio. Clever!


Mayor Hickenlooper was there too. I was waiting for him to give a speech but it never happened. I guess he was there just to mingle with the crowd and show his support for the school. I remember reading an article on the web that he helped the school celebrate it's 30th year. I like our mayor. He actually used to live in the same loft area we did when we lived downtown. We didn't live there at the same time but our neighbors would go on and on about what a nice man he was and tell stories about him, and this was all before he became mayor.


Kendall was eyeing the rock climbing wall. She was a little too small for it but maybe next year.


It was a great day! I got to talk with some of the school staff members and am really excited. I'm trying so hard to figure out all the different ways I can contribute to the school. I did let them know about the Denver Public Library having the great book giveaway in a couple of weeks. This is a day where only teachers are invited and they get to take home lots of free materials! They hadn't heard about it before and are anxious to take advantage of it.


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