RELATIONSHIPS December 11, 2006 Issue

GRACE—AND ANGRY DANCE MOMS

BONNIE MITCHINSON

The Dance Recital was fast approaching, and the children's costumes that had been ordered months before finally arrived. The girls and their mothers went to pick them up with great excitement.

However, when my daughter and I looked through all the gold-sequined tails and matching top hats they were to wear in their jazz number, none of them fit her. They were all too small. Figuring I would ask the owner of the studion about it later, I took a seat with the other dance moms. They said they had something to tell me. They wanted me to know that another mother (who wasn't there at the moment) had taken my daughter's costume because she thought the larger size looked better on her daughter.

"We told her she couldn't do that," one of them said, "but she didn't care. She sure had a lot of nerve!" They were angry and wanted me to confront her.