Okay, I said I would give a full report on my experience performing at a 10 year old girl's birthday, so here it is... I went into this very apprehensive. You see, I was hired by a teacher at my daughter's elementary school (where I volunteer on a daily basis). I have never entertained at a birthday party before ( let alone a child's birthday) and this was a paid gig so my reputation was on the line. Girls that age can be a tough group to please, so I knew I HAD to be on my game. When I first arrived, I applied applied makeup (tribal markings, bindis and all) and did hair for about 15 girls. Next, the mom of the guest of honor took individual photos of each girl. She had set up a beautiful backdrop to complement the theme of the party. They all looked adorable! I then performed for the guests, children and adults alike. The first choreography I did was an oldie but goodie (La La). They loved it, and, although I had originally planned to perform one dance at the beginning and one at the end, they insisted on another. So I went ahead and did the second choreography, Jammin' In London (we did this one at Spirit of the Tribes 7). I think the performance really got them into the spirit because next I gave them a mini class and they did great. They tried very hard to pick up the moves I was teaching. It was as much (or more) fun for me as it was for them! After the lesson we danced together. I had taught them a couple of visual and vocal cues so we were able to do a little ATS, WHAT FUN!!! It was time for me to leave, but they wanted to see another performance. I decided to try out a new choreography that my troupe, Avalon, had been working on. We would be making our troupe debut at our studio party a week from then and even though it was originally created for three, I thought, "what the heck". They were a great audience to try it out on. All in all, It was a very positive experience. The mom (teacher) who hired me, suggested I think about considering this (kid's birthdays) as a new niche for me since I had such a good rapport with the girls. What a great first solo paying gig! I have run into several of the guests (children and adults) since then and have had only complements and positive remarks. It was a really great day and I will remember it always. I hope the future holds more experiences like this.