BalletLock

Chapter 2

On Sherlock's way home that evening, he stopped in at the library and found a book called the Basics of Ballet Exercises. It contained instructions on how to perform positions with arms and legs, and the correct muscles used to do so. Sherlock stayed up that night attempting to teach himself ballet and finding it much more difficult than he expected. The book showed dancers whose bodies seemed to form straight perfect lines, but when he watched himself in the full length miror in John's old room, he saw a chaotic bundle of odd shapes that flaled about aimlessly. This was going to take a while.

       After a few nights of ballet attempts, Sherlock decided it was time to try something new. He went back to the library and checked aut a book on dance anatomy. It was a very detailed and focused on the muscles and body mechanics used in dance. Sherlock learned that all strength comes from the chore, so he began a  rigourous daily chore strengthening routine. Within a fortnight, Sherlock had abb muscles that stretched out the buttons on his shirt even more and threataned to burst out of them.

       A week later, Sherlock felt ready to try the dance class. He bought a pair of men's ballet cargo pants, a well fitting black t shirt, and a pair of tan canvas ballet flats. The ballet studio was suprisingly close to 221B, and it took Sherlock only 15 minutes to walk there. As he entered the crowded building, he was greeted my the strong scent of ballet shoes and sweaty bodies.

       The dance class was filled with all kinds of people, from men in their sixties to girls in their teens. They wore a variety of odd looking pieces of clothing seemingly thrown together randomly such as leotards, legwarmers, tights, shorts, skirts, jumpers, onsies, booties, yoga pants, and belly warmers. As the class progressed, Sherlock found that he was actually quite good compaired to other dancers in the class. He held his torso correctly, kept his legs straight and pulled up, and pointed his toes. The dance teacher, a woman in her early sixties who previouy danced with the Royal Ballet, commented extensively on Sherlocks ability.

       Sherlock found the class to be quite enjoyable, especially since he was able to dance with the music. He felt that he was able to express himself even through dance even more than through playing the violin. He was able to send energy throgh every particle of his body

which he found to be quite amazing.

      

As he was leaving the studio, the teacher told him that he was quite good and asked him to return the next week. As he continued out of the building,  Sherlock recieved many flirty smiles from some of the  men and women who attended his class. He nodded politely in reply and pulled his coat collar up mysteriously. It was obvious that he enjoyed the attention.