The greatest show of Lise Bloch

Introduction

       Tchaikovsky played in the background while I practiced in my room. The presentation will be two weeks later and I was getting nervous. It won't be my first performance, but I always have butterflies on my stomach just before the curtains open and the show begins. But I knew it would last for five minutes and then I would be so relaxed and happy that nothing else would matter, just the applause and smiles of the audience at the end.

       Yes, I love dancing. My ballet shoes were my treasure and I kept them as other women keep their pearl necklaces and their shiny jewelry. It was my father who gave them to me. My last gift from him. I was fifteen when he died in the concentration camp ... My mother, before she ran away, sent me to France to live with my uncles. I never heard any news from her again.

       In Germany I have had terrible times and sometimes I have nightmares at night. But now I'm in France and my uncles are the strangest Parisians I've ever seen. They have a very different lifestyle from the people who live in Paris and I love them very much.

       My aunt, Madeleine, was a skinny woman of medium height, with straight short brown hair in a chanel cut. She walks in an elegant, refined way, she always wore light and delicate dresses, but she spokes too loudly to someone born in France. When she thinks that something is funny, she doesn't smile shyly as most French girls do, but she give a roar of laughter, sometimes she cries with laughter, even when the joke is not so good. My uncle says it was her laughter that made him fall in love.

       And despite the delicate dresses, the hats were scandalous (she always wore a hat). Huge, colorful hats, she had a collection of them that she sought from various places in the world. What I liked the most was one that came from Portugal, yellow and round that had a red ribbon with white polka dots at the base of the crown (top of the hat, where the head is placed) and made a ribbon bow that she wore on the front. One day she explained to me that she used the bow in this way to draw attention to her face, but in my opinion the bow drew more attention to itself than to her. Anyway, taste is taste. And my uncle loved it; told me that when he met her, she was standing in the middle of the Neuf Bridge under La Seine and wore this hat with the bow on the front. He says that nothing caught his attention more than that different woman, the others around him suddenly turned gray, and he could only see the red of the bow and the bright eyes of his beloved. I think I can understand what my aunt meant by the bow drawing attention to her face.

       Anyway, I practiced in my room, contrary to the orders of my teacher who told me to rest, but I enjoyed practicing and wanted to give my best. I also didn't want to waste the effort that I gave to become a professional dancer, a dream of mine and of my parents. While doing an Arabesque, I was interrupted by my aunt who was shouting at the foot of the stairs:

          - Dinner is served! Come on, Lise, stop bouncing around and come eat before you faint!

          - Sure, Auntie. I'm on my way.

      I sat on the floor and took off my worn-out ballet shoes. I did a quick body stretching and hurried down the stairs to avoid hearing my aunt's screams again.

          - Well, Auntie, the way you say, it sounds like I'm some clumsy kangaroo jumping happily ...

       She turned to me with wide eyes. Then she gave me a scare with his usual noisy laughter.

          - Hahahahahahaha Indeed. Your feet are as big as a kangaroo's!

       Ha ha, very funny.

       I made a face at her while her eyes quickly filled with tears of laughter. At times, it was annoying. Especially when there was no grace at all.

          - Bonsoir, mademoiselles. What do we have for dinner today? - My uncle said, walking past the kitchen door.

          - Goodnight, sweetheart. How was work? We have chicken strogonoff for dinner. - Replied my aunt, all angelic, deceiving anyone who didn't know her perversity.

          - Strogonoff? Wonderful! Oh, at work happened the usual rudeness. I'm a fool for still expecting them to be peaceful someday ...

       My uncle was a civil lawyer. There were a lot of couples appearing and asking for divorce, but it was strange that they was so upset ... The situations must have been so tough, to get to that point.

          - And, for Lise's face, you irritated her again, didn't you, ma chérie? - Said my uncle, smirking maliciously at her.

       I knew he would also conspire against me.

          - Of course not dear. I just told the truth. - She smiles back.

       How are people so sadistic?

          - Well, shall we eat then? - I said sarcastically, anxious to get rid of the jokes.

       They had a little more fun at my expense, but they joined the idea. We eat quietly.

          - So, Lise, what will be the show this time? - My uncle asked, his mouth full.

       When my parents left, my uncles thought that I would be so depressed that I would stop dancing. So they always encouraged me and supported me. They continued to pay for my classes until, at eighteen, I became a professional dancer. I owe a lot to them.

          - Sleeping Beauty, with Tchaikovsky's music.

          - And where will you guys make the play??

          - At the Mogador Theater. It's close to Église de la Sainte-Trinité, fifteen minutes from here if we go by car. And best of all: I'll be the protagonist this time! - I said, all excited.

          - That's wonderful! - Said my uncle. Everything for him is wonderful.

          - My congratulations, my dear! I am very proud of you. - Replied my aunt with a sincere look.

       And I knew, despite the jokes and pranks, that my uncles loved me and they really cheered for me. 

          - Thank you! - I said, lowering my eyes, embarrassed.

          - Well, the presentation is coming and you'd better go to bed now. You should rest.

          - Yes, Auntie, I'm going. Good night.

           - Good night.

           - Good night, Lise. 

       I went to my room. The floor was make with wood, the bed was in the corner near the window, and the wardrobe squeezed straight ahead, to give spacefor the ballet bar where I practiced a lot. The wall opposite the bed was made of mirror from floor to ceiling and it had a view of River Seine. We lived in front of Neuf bridge. I was very fond of my room, but sometimes I missed the German landscape of my childhood, the trams drawn on horseback ... We lived in Potsdam, not far from Berlin. The houses were so big and beautiful. And I used to say that one day I would live in one of them when I had become a princess ...

       I lay down on my bed thinking about how little time was left for my show. I needed to practice, and every time before bedtime, I would go through all the acts in my head, the choreography decorated a long time ago. I had a good feeling, I do not know if it was because of the lead role, but I was very happy.

       I fell asleep thinking how wonderful it would be if the big day came soon.