:: tutus & toe shoes ::

:: JMJ ::


:: There is a lot of extra time and work that goes into even the smallest of local dance studio showcases. More time, more choreography, more rehearsals, more costumes, more tutus, more pointe shoes, more dancing ... Of course I don't mind that last bit at all, seeing that my toes would just love to be in pointe shoes dancing all the time ... Those hours spent in extra rehearsals, extra classes, or even extra costume sessions, those hours made of so many moments create thousands of priceless memories. Good, humorous, crazy, (sometimes) downright frantic, to each moment there is a memory, and I find that in the end, it is this beautiful collage of memories that make these months preparing for the show so very bright.  
  




As a ballerina, one takes on the role of painter, an artist using the medium of movement. Her canvas is woven with the fibers of classical dance tradition, her pencil lines are sketched with the strict demands of technique, and the color ... the color is drawn from the music's essence and painted through the grace, the beauty, the flow of the dance. 



It never ceases to astound me how quickly the 'little girls' grasp and embrace this concept of the ballerina. How eagerly they move to the music and how devotedly they pointe their toes and cross their fifths. And when their time on stage is done and the 'big girls' must dance? These little one's sit quietly in the auditorium or in the wings, eyes wide, absorbing all the color that they see. At the time for break, they watch the older dancers with admiration whispering among themselves about the tutus and the pointe shoes and "when they will dance like that!" 








 As a 'big girl' observing the 'little dancers' from the sidelines and even in the midst of a group of the little one's, I can not help but smile and think of that little four year old ballerina that I used to be.  These little painters of movement are so precious; we 'big girls' can learn a lot from watching them from the wings. Armed with the outward frills of tutus and toe shoes, it never hurts to have a small, simple reminder of the essence of ballet. 





Through the curtains we watch these 'little dancers' who dance with their whole heart, and I see them puff up with admiration when they look up to the 'big dancers' or have the opportunity to dance with them. Truly, these must be the moments, the moments that remind me of my impact on these little girls' love of dance, the moments that draw my heart back to why I love ballet, the moments that make me want to be a simple little girl again, with no tutu or toe shoes ... these moments are the moments that make my collage of memories the brightest. 





The admiration I see in the eyes of the little dancer's as they watch the 'big girls' is mirrored in my own eyes as I watch those little painters of movement dance ballet with their whole heart. ::
"Let them praise his name in the dance" Psalm 149:3

 :: Graci Rose Stefania ::

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