The music fills my body and I lose myself to dance. Others might dread the monotony of doing the same exercises thousands of times over the years, but that isn’t at all how we dancers see it. For us, barre represents the building blocks of everything we do. All of the flashy moves, turns, and leaps that are performed on stage are rooted in deep knee bends, brushing our feet against the floor, and knowing how to lift and turnout.
It’s not especially sexy, but it’s a necessary evil, and one I find comforting. I know that when I’m standing at the barre with other adults or professionals, we are all equals. We are all trying our utmost to perfect the basics. But as any ballet teacher will be quick to tell you, there is no such thing as perfection. There is always room for improvement.
When I reach the battements and try my best to whack myself in the face, I notice that I have an audience. Celine is standing in the doorway, watching with rapt attention. I see her hands and feet marking my timing.
I remove an earbud. “Hey, Celine. Good morning. I hope I wasn’t too noisy and woke you.”
“No. I had to use the loo.”
“Do you want to join me?”
She nods.
“Let’s get you something a little easier to move around in.” I signal with my head for her to follow me. “Are you a leotard and tights girl, or the type of girl who wishes she could wear what she wants in class?”
“I’m Team Leotards.”
We enter my bedroom. I shouldn’t be surprised, but my bed is made up tightly and looks like it was put together by a hotel maid. If I hadn’t known Sam was in the military, I’d be able to tell after seeing how he makes a bed.
“Do you have a favorite brand? I was a Yumiko or Cloud and Victory girl.”
“I’ll wear anything with flowers or pastel colors.”
“Pastels, you say?” I slide open the closet door. There are five new leotards hanging, organized from light to dark. “I have a pink and a baby blue. Which will it be?”
“Oh, can I borrow the blue one? It reminds me of Odette.”
I hand her the hanger. “I’ll let you in on a little secret—that’s why I bought it.”
I leave Celine to change and ask her to join me in the living room when she’s ready. Odette was one of the roles I’d always wanted to perform with LABT. While that chance died a long time ago, when I put this on in the Gloucester Gate Dance Studio, I can still live out that dream as an adult. The adult class has talked about putting together a small performance group, and I’ve been giving it some serious consideration.
Doing ballet as an adult has given me a new respect, appreciation, and outlook on it. For one, I’m not taking for granted how much work I’ve had to put in to get some ofmy flexibility back. And two, being in a supportive and friendly environment has made it so I want to be there and perform. It’s not a job. I’m there because I chose to be.
“Minerva, I’m ready.”
“I should’ve told you earlier to call me Min,” I joke. She relaxes and joins me at the barre. “How about we do a few pliés, tendus, and ronde de jambes, then have a go with the Leeds of London pointes.”
We discuss the tempo and combinations before I pick an upbeat Disney song fromTangledfor us. I make it through the end of the tendus before my body decides it’s had enough.
“I’m going to have to call it quits here, but don’t let that stop you.” Celine nods and continues to finish the last combination. “Really stretch the foot. Good. Just like that. Eyes up here. Relaxed hand. Taller posture.”
“Was that a little better?”
“Much. You have beautiful turnout and banana feet. I’m jealous.”
She leans against the barre. “They’re a blessing and a curse.”
She’s right about that. I’ve known quite a number of people who have banana feet, which as the name implies, are feet that look like a banana when pointed. They’re your stereotypical ballerina feet.
“I bet. You have to be extra careful when you’re balancing en pointe. Do you jet glue and darn your shoes?”
“Yes, but it doesn’t matter. They still die within two or three days.”
No, she’s not literally killing the shoes. What Celine means is that her shoes don’t have enough support left to safely keep her on her toes. They’re too soft. Aka they’re dead. Sometimes a dancer will use jet glue to try andreinforce the areas of a shoe that are prone to go first. It normally prolongs the shoe an extra day or two.
“If you like these shoes, they may solve a lot of problems.”
“That would be nice. I hate having to ring my brother every few weeks asking for more funds for the shoes.”
