by Edgar Degas Today, Will wanted to go over to Storm Athletics to practice Lacrosse. He could practice at the local elementary school without the drive time, but since it is over near the ballet school, I humor him. After I dropped him off, I headed over to the studio to watch the last 1/2 hour of Helena's rehearsals.
Helena's dance studio has ballet classes of all ages going on. When I arrived, the foyer was full of little bitties and their mommies. These are 3-4 year old dancers; just the age Helena was when she started! They are so full of energy!
I stepped over a couple of them laying on the floor and headed down the hall to the farthest studio in the building. It is the largest one, and so is reserved for the oldest and most experienced dancers in the school. The ages in that class range from 14 to 19. That is Helena's class. Dancers more experienced than that have moved on to the University/Pro stage and hold class/rehearsal somewhere else.
There were about 27 girls and their teacher in the room when I walked in. It is a good thing the room is so large! That is a lot of moving bodies! The room has a perpetual funk of sweaty dancer/stinky toe shoe smell. I have grown accustom to that, so I hardly noticed it.
There are 3 noticeable layers of girls in the room. Layer One are the girls in the front. They are the leaders, the girls with the main parts. The dance is being 'set' on them. They are working the hardest and interacting constantly with the teacher.
The girls in Layer Two are also hardworking. They are found just behind the main action, carefully attentive to all that is going on and shadowing the lead dancers to make sure that they know the part should they be called on to step in. Helena is one of these girls. They get comments and suggestions from the teacher from time to time.
The final layer, Layer 3, are the girls in the back of the room. They cluster and flitter about, sometimes paying attention, often not. They are the youngest/least experienced in the room and it shows. They talk together during rehearsal, apparently off task. That is something you never see in the other two groups. The teacher occasionally reprimands them, telling them to stop talking and pay attention. She doesn't spend much time on this, though, because she is so busy with the majority of the girls who are on task. Once they mature and get stronger in confidence and technique they will hopefully work their way into Layer Two.
You know, ballet looks so glamorous and graceful on the stage! It is when you watch this studio work that you realize just how much sweat, passion, and dedication go into it for each and every dancer. I am really proud of my little girl (now grown so tall and graceful) for all the hard work she puts into something she loves with a passion!
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