102 – Defy Gravity
I went to Lizzie’s dance recital tonight. When was the last time I went to any sort of dance performance? There was Swan Lake, but that must’ve been over a decade ago—I do remember sleeping through most of it though. Oh how ’bout the cèilidhean? Do they count?
I’ve never really learned to appreciate dance. Come to think of it, it’s rather odd, ’cause I am into figure skating; and there are definitely transferable skills between the two.
Anyways, Lizzie did just fine. Shakes and twirls, twirls and shakes—what’s with that stiff smile? I didn’t pay that much attention to be honest. I was distracted by other dancers, especially the wee ones.
One of those wee lasses really took me by surprise—almost wanted to give her a standing ovation when she was done. I reckon she must be no older than 10. And to call her a wee lass is really an understatement; she was huge for her age. However, when she came out in her tutu, her movement was as elegant as everyone else’s. And though my mind was telling me that I should feel sorry for her toes, what my eyes saw was something entirely different. There was a sense of weightlessness, gravity-defying! She was like a figurine being suspended by an invisible wire from the ceiling. Heavy turned light, it was an almost magical effect. God knows how many hours she had to put into painstaking rehearsals just to be able to achieve that. I applaud her effort.
Tonight, she renewed my respect for ballet.
