Lauren had an unexpected surprise this afternoon at ballet. They received their results and certificates from the exams they did last month. Stunningly, Lauren scored an A+ on her exam - the highest score you can get, with mysterious phrases such as 'held back firmly on plies and sautes (I don't know how to type an accented e)', 'beautiful arm waves and expressive mime', and 'enjoyment and energy'. There was still more excitement, as Lauren's exam group (three or four kids are examined as a group; her class was divided into four exam groups) all scored A+ and the group was ranked top in their category across all the ballet studios examined across KZN. The four of them will all receive little trophies for this. The teacher - who will also receive a trophy - was thrilled too; it seems there is quite a lot of competition between the different studios.

Lauren was totally euphoric and when we came home ran around the house shrieking and running victory laps. Fortunately Robyn was still out at her modern dance class (I pick up Lauren and drop off Robyn at the same time), and by the time Robs came home I had managed to give Lauren a few quick pointers about appropriates levels of modesty (running around shrieking 'TROPHY! TROPHY! TROPHY!' just might alienate your sister).

Got to say I was pretty surprised. Just goes to show how little I know about ballet. I always knew Lauren was extraordinarily enthusiastic about it, and of course she is quite athletic and strong and coordinated in general, but I didn't realise she actually had some aptitude for it too.