The Jersey Shore Situation

Am I out of line to think that a 6-year-old girl dancing in front of a rock band in a bar in Point Pleasant, NJ should be cause for alarm for what the future holds?  Or should I be more concerned that the 4-year-old and the 11 month old were also dancing?

Now, I know your first comment will be, "why were they dancing in a bar?"  Well, let me explain.  During the summer, my family was on vacation in Point Pleasant Beach, NJ with my cousin and his family. We went to dinner at this place called The Tiki Bar. As we were walking out after dinner, we noticed that there was a band warming up. We decided to hang around for a minute so the girls could listen to some music.

Well, a minute turned into 45 minutes of my three girls dancing (along with my cousin's two daughters) in front of the band like they were their number one groupies. And, you may think that they were just running around and being silly. Nope. I couldn't believe my eyes as they were actually doing dance moves and trying to get the attention of the band members. Annie was shaking her hips and her arms were in the air, all as part of her own choreographed routine. Kelly was trying to keep up with her big sister as best as she could.  And Brigid sat in the middle of the dance floor, bouncing up and down, pointing at the lead singer.  If the scene was not crazy enough, a "The Situation" wanna be, trying to impress his "Snooki," grabbed Annie and was spinning her around the dance floor.  I was trying to sit there and smile, but believe me, crazy thoughts about my daughters' futures were running through my mind.

I bring this up now because there have been two more recent instances of my daughters taking over dance floors. First was at the Irish Festival in Newport at the end of the summer. An American-Irish band played onstage as families sat around tables, enjoying the food and  peacefully listening to the music. Soon the small dance floor was over run by my daughters and some of their friends.  Most of the girls were just running around, being silly. Not mine. Now, even though she has only had eight-45 minute classes of Irish Step Dancing from two young girls through the South Kingstown Department of Rec., Annie performed as if she were part of RiverDance! Kelly, once again not to be outdone by her sister, was Irish Step Dancing, even though she has never had a lesson. They did not come off the dance floor the entire time the band was on stage. 

The most recent instance occurred at a political fund raising event at the infamous Hibernian Hall.  There was an older group of musicians just playing some nice music for the crowd as they enjoyed mingling and the buffet.  The thought of my girls dancing did not even enter my mind since there was not even a dance floor.  But true to their nature they somehow manufactured their own space by pushing chairs around and got themselves enough space to show off their moves once again.  And of course Annie is out there dancing like she is in a Lady Gaga video. Kelly was more silly this time and not really doing specific dance moves and Brigid would venture in and out, but there was a lot more to explore now that she is a more confident walker.

I guess on the one hand I could be happy.  My girls are definitely not shy and they enjoy dancing, which is great fun and wonderful exercise.  It should also help with self confidence and I know they will be able to have fun at any event as long as there is music.  But on the other hand, what am I to think about for the future if this is how my daughters are dancing now?  Are they going to be the girl dancing provocatively at the bar or the frat party?  Are they going to be a member of their college's dance team, dressed in next-to-nothing, dancing at center court during basketball games?  Or will they use this talent just for fun when hanging out with their family or friends?  These are the thoughts that keep me up at night with three girls.

Finally, if the thoughts I already have in my head are not distressing enough, let me give you one last image to ponder. As we were dragging the girls out of the Tiki Bar, some creepy old man gave each of them a dollar bill!

Needless to say I have had many restless nights of sleep, pondering my daughters' futures.  Only now, besides my own pre-conceived thoughts, I also have a new one. Now I will have to go to bed each night wondering if my girls are going to end up dancing professionally for money. Thanks, Creepy Old Guy at The Tiki Bar!