A Wedding Tale

Chapter 13: Back to It

I woke up at seven to get ready for a long day at ballet. I quickly washed my face and pulled my hair back into a French roll. I hid how tired I was with concealer and mascara. I slipped out of my pajamas and into a green Yumiko leotard and the classic pink seamed tights. I pulled on some gray leg warmers and a black skirt.

Once I was ready, I grabbed my dance bag and walked downstairs. I popped in my AirPods as I went to the subway and took the first train to the studio.

I arrived at the studio and class started at nine. We started class with the usual plié combination at the barre. We continued with small movements such as tendu, dégagé, ron de jambe, and frappe. After smaller movements, we become warm enough to start large movements such as fondu, developé, and grande battement. After barre, we began a dreadfully slow adagio in center. We followed did a petit alegro combination. Since I was in pointe shoes, I was able to do the combination as relevés instead of jumps. This didn't put as much strain on my Achilles tendonitis. My mother then asked us to face the back of the room so it was easier to spot our turns. We were split up into our usual groups: Senior, Junior, Apprentice. Apprentices did regular pirouettes, while Juniors did one foot pirouettes, and Seniors did fouettés. Finally, we did a grande allegro and finished class in center with a reverence.

"Thank you everyone! Before we start rehearsals, I need to talk to you all about our gala performance. Go get a drink of water and come back in here."

I went up to the lounge and took a sip of water before going back into the studio and taking a seat beside Jonatan and Luna.

"Okay," my mother arranged her notes. "As everyone knows, our Benefit Gala is coming up on May 24th at the Valeria Garden's. They have redone their outdoor stage and it is absolutely beautiful. If our younger members didn't know, our Benefit Gala is when we host a party for all of our sponsors, board members, and donors, and we give them a sneak peak at our upcoming season. This is also when we will formally announce our new season for the press. I'm guessing you guys are very eager to know our new season," we all nodded in excitement. "I figured!" my mother laughed at our reaction.

     "After Sleeping Beauty, we will be beginning our new season with Coppélia in August at the Paramount Theatre. After Coppélia, we will perform A Month in the Country at the Heritage Theatre in October. Next, we will be moving straight into our usual The Nutcracker at the Paramount for three weekends. In January we will be doing Dances at a Gathering and The Cellist at McDouglass Theatre. Dances at a Gathering is a mix of dances set to Tschaikovsky's music. There are only five females and five males involved. Now, The Cellist is a very new ballet about Jacqueline du Pré and her relationships between her husband and her cello. It's a very emotional story about her short lived career as an amazing cellist. We will continue our season with Anastasia at the McDouglass Theatre in February and March. This is a very complex ballet and I will definitely have to think long and hard about who I believe I can trust to play Anastasia and Anna Anderson. In April we will be performing Cinderella at the Heritage Theatre in April. Finally, we will finish our season out with Onegin at the Paramount Theatre in June."

     I was really excited about our upcoming season. It was a really good mix of classical, feel-good, tragedy, and original ballet's.

     "For the gala, we will be taking a small section or two from each ballet. Just remember that if you are dancing these roles for the gala it does not mean that you will be performing these roles in the real performance. Between dances, we will have some of you do a small speech or we will interview you on what the ballet is about. I know that our seniors- Luna, Callie Ann, and Joel- will be interviewed on your experience with the Brooklyn Ballet.