At Momentum Dance Academy’s recital, in Tulare, California, 3-year-old Charlotte Silva decided to go rogue.
And who can blame her?
The ballet/tap combo, set to Justin Timberlake’s catchy “Can’t Stop the Feeling,” was just asking for Silva to bust out her own moves. And her teachers weren’t the least bit upset. For kids under 5 making their recital debuts, most dance instructors expect breaking out into tears as a normal response. Including Silva’s teacher Melanie Lopez.
“As a teacher of such a young group, your fear is of a crying student,” says Lopez. “So I’m happy that she had so much fun. You can’t watch her dance without smiling and laughing.”
With the audience on her side, roaring with applause, Silva kept working her improvisational skills.
“I tried to get her attention and show her what we were doing,” says Abbey Gomes, the assistant teacher for the class, “but she didn’t have a care in the world.”
The little firecracker just kept feeing the music. “I was amazed at her musicality,” says Crystal Reynolds, the studio’s owner. “She just knew when that chorus was coming.”
Here’s Charlotte just being Charlotte—cuteness and all.