Madelyn is getting a bit of a reputation as a party girl. The minute she hears music – any music – she smiles and starts to dance. She’s been doing this virtually since the day she could stand up. It is really a thrilling sight to see. First of all, it is perhaps the cutest thing ever, but it also really gets my parental pride meter going. M’s not even two yet and I’m already thinking Juilliard – like Center Stage-style.

Seriously though, what’s cool about this, to me, is that it seems like Madelyn really is into dancing – or at least really into music. I think she must really love music if every time she hears it she gets all happy and breaks out her moves. I mean this is a kid who likes the Sesame Street theme song (the modern hip-hop-like version at least) more than Sesame Street itself. In her early dance days, we’d just loop the opening of Sesame Street and she’d dance around the living room.

Sometimes we’ll put on Black Eyed Peas or Lady Gaga in our bedroom and she’ll dance away in front of the mirror with no regard for furniture or walls (or Princeton) and she just totally gets lost in it. I truly can’t wait to see how she evolves as a dancer and if it’s something she takes on as she gets older. You never know what your kid is really going to be into, so I’m wondering if this is our first glimpse of something.

The real fun has been at the two weddings where she was the flower girl. The pre-show was her walking down the aisle – twice! – without any issues. But the main event was her completely captivating the dance floor as she gets the party going with her awesome moves.

As you can see, she clearly has a choreography that is all her own. In fact everyone has started calling what she does “The Madelyn” since she, of course, invented it. Here’s a quick tutorial:

How To Do “The Madelyn”

Below are all the moves you’ll need to successfully perform “The Madelyn” at parties. Start out by doing them in order, then you’re free to alternate between each at will. You’ll really impress your friends at parties and if you do it right, you’ll be in the center of the dance floor with all eyes on you.

1) “The Bounce” – Start by putting your arms out about 45 degrees and doing a slight knee bend, bouncing ever so slightly to the beat. It also helps if you flail your arms randomly at times. Make sure to look up while doing this since, of course, everybody is taller than you.

2) “The Sway” – Next, you have to transition into the side-to-side sway. This is a very exaggerated sway though – you have to be sure to actually lift your left leg and tilt right, then slowly switch, placing your left leg down again, lifting the right leg, and tilting left. Repeat this motion while making a very wide-eyed face and smiling big.

3) “The Spin” – At random moments during the dance, stop what your doing and spin in a circle one or two times before continuing. This is ballerina style, except keep your arms kind of half down and half out as if you can’t really decide. It also helps if you almost lose your balance here but then don’t.

4) “The Jump” – This is an exaggerated version of the bounce and only happens very infrequently during the dance. It is usually aided by holding the arms of somebody much taller than you and then hopping up and down uncontrollably. This is the one move that usually ends up completely off-beat from the music as a result of the sheer excitement you get from performing it.

5) “The Applause” – When you decide you’re done, make sure to give yourself a healthy round of applause at the end. In fact, random clapping in the middle of any of the above four steps is also encouraged.

Madelyn hopes to see you out on the dance floor sometime soon!