The White Swan

1.1

Natalia

Ever since she was 2 years old, basically since she knew how to walk, ballet had been her sole point of focus. Her mother had a dream of being a prima ballerina at the Bolshoi Theatre, right in their homecity of Moscow. But,  dreams hadn't been realised when she got pregnant with a baby girl, Natalia. So when Natalia showed an unusual sense of musicality and an interest in dance, her mother immediately put her in ballet classes.

As soon as she was old enough she auditioned for the Vaganova Ballet Academy, notorious for producing the world's most famous ballet dancers. The school was gruelling though, students were forced to evolve, because if they didn't, they'd get dismissed. Natalia knew that she couln't return home without finishing her education at Vaganova, it simply wasn't an option, her mother had made that clear. So Natalia worked and worked and worked, and finally hard work payed off, because she graduated top of her class at the young age of 18.

Immediately a spot at the Mariinsky Theatre was secured for her, but Natalia's hunger for succes wasn't satisfied. She knew that if she wanted to be an international sensation she needed to get out of Russia, no matter how good the companies were. If she accepted the Mariinsky, she would stay at the Mariinsky. She wanted to dance every big stage the world had to offer, so she accepted an offer from the Royal Opera House, packed her bags, and moved to London.

~~~

Natalia carefully broke in her new pointe shoes as she listened to the rehearsal music already playing. The corpse would soon finish their rehearsal and not long after that she would be called to practice and perfect the variation she was supposed to be dancing in the upcoming shows. She'd wear the shoes for rehearsal and soften them, she knew that if she danced with rock-hard pointe shoes in front of an audience of 2300 people her coaches would have her head on a silver platter.

Recognising the music and knowing it was the end of the piece she pulled a rehearsal tutu over her muscled legs and secured the flat bun on her head with a few more pins. She already had a company class that morning, followed by a quick break and practising with her coaches to secure a role in the next ballet the company would put out.

She was already warm so she just busied herself stretching a few muscles in her shin that had become tight over the days of intense rehearsals for hours on end. Tomorrow was the opening night and everyone in the theatre had been working their ass of just to make everything absolutely perfect.

For Natalia that meant not only learning and perfecting her own variations but also those of the lead who would be dancing Giselle herself. Myrtha was Natalie's part and she had worked hard to get it, but with some flutters of eyelashes and hand that lingered a little too long she had managed to become the understudy of the girl who would dance Giselle.

If for whatever reason the girl couldn't dance that night, Natalia would step in and do it for her. Natalia part would go to another soloist while Natalia would be dancing a principal part. Natalia didn't wish any harm upon the original dancer but she knew what a great opportunity it would be to debut as Giselle.

For now she was happy as Myrtha, queen of the Willis, and knowing she didn't have a pas de deux in the piece helped calm her nerves. Blake had preciously been her partner and they had worked wonderful together but lately.. it hadn't been the same. She didn't feel safe dancing with him anymore, knowing what he would do behind closed doors. Myrtha was fearless though, after all, she was the queen of the Willis. Biding Albrecht to dance until he dies, she would be assuming Myrtha's fearlessness in the performances to come, and she vowed to take some of that fearlessness and make it her very own.

flora says... 🩰🎞🦢
Idk if this made sense but you could google the story of Giselle for a little clarification! Thank you so much for taking a chance with this story, don't forget to vote and comment, ily ❤️‍🩹