Feet of Grace

The kindness and generosity of our community and surrounding communities never ceases to amaze me.

Several weeks ago, I got an e-mail at work from Heather Edwards, owner of Fusion Dance Center in Greenville. She also owns the studio in Hillsboro.  The e-mail said that each year, her dancers put on a benefit recital called "Feet of Grace" as a way to give back to their community.  And this year, they had selected Grace as the honoree.

These are the beautiful dancers who performed in today's "Feet of Grace" benefit recital.

Heather told me that many of the young dancers at the Hillsboro studio, taught by Shanna Conner, had been following our story and were very touched by Grace's journey.  And we are honored they asked us.

The studio in Hillsboro, which started at the Moose, opened around the same time Grace was born.  I can remember thinking how much fun it would be to sign her up for dance classes when she was big enough.  I did a little bit of tap dancing and tumbling when I was little, and couldn't wait for Grace to try on a tutu.

Some of the dancers from Hillsboro perform in the opening number.

Even though Grace may never have a chance to be a student at Fusion Dance Center, they honored her at today's recital.  And we were thrilled.

They have done this benefit recital for four years, and it's always been called "Feet of Grace," which is neat.  In addition to the awesome recital, they also took up a love offering for us to put toward the research study.

Another dance routine from the recital.

Today, March 29, was the big day.  Although Grace wouldn't be dancing, I still wanted her to look cute for the show.  And she always does!

After lunch, Kyle, Grace and I, along with Grandma Susie, rode over to the First Christian Church in Greenville, who generously donated the use of their gym for the recital.  

The gym was full of parents, grandparents and friends all eagerly waiting to see their favorite dancers perform. And the program included nearly 30 dance selections from dancers of all ages. Dancers from the Fusion Dance Center in Hillsboro and Greenville were joined by the Vandalia Performing Arts Center and Gracefully Yours Dance Academy in Collinsville.

Before the end, we had a chance to thank everyone for their kindness and generosity.

And we loved the whole show!  Grace especially liked the music, and she sort of moved to the music while sitting on her daddy's lap.  It was such a wonderful afternoon.

After the dances were finished, Heather asked us to come to the front and explained about this year's benefit.  And she thanked us for being there.  We wouldn't have missed it for the world, and we were so honored that they asked us.  The program said this was a chance for the dancers to give back to their community without expecting anything in return. Each and every young dancer today had a smile on his or her face as they performed some of their favorite numbers. They definitely touched our hearts today dancing for our Grace.  It was truly a "Feet of Grace."

MLH

These are the owners of the three dance studios who participated today.