Chapter 1 -- D'ici-de là

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d'ici-de là (deh-see'-deh-lah') To move from 'here' to 'there'. So if your leg was off the floor for example at 45 degrees, you would move the leg to the side, then back to the front.

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It was the last week of the academic year at International School Manila, I was only fourteen but had the biggest goal in life to succeed. After saying good bye with some friends and classmates, I scanned the room for Laine and in doing so one guy got my attention.

It was Travis and just like always, he was sitting silently in the midst of a noisy room, he was beside Adrian who was obnoxiously laughing with Ted over something about their Soccer game. I don't know but for me, he stood out from the rest of the boys. I got to know him personally. He was this super kind, thoughtful, somehow good-looking gentleman.

I treated him the way I treated my other friends. Since we have a lot in common and have the same interests, We became very close through Laine, his cousin. We would talk, chat, text, eat together, study together, and laugh together. I was happy with this.

I wanted to say hi and start up a conversation with him.

But I didn't.

"Nikki" My Mom exclaimed as she dragged me away "That boy would only serve as a distraction. Do you not want to be a Ballerina anymore? A kind with grace and would dance just like you always wanted?"

"No no, Mama. Of course, I would still want to. He was just a friend—"

"Enough Nikki! I didn't enroll you here just so you could entertain some spoiled rich boy's attention" I know doing ballet doesn't come cheap. Pointe shoes cost a bundle. Ballet performances cost sometimes a small fortune. Taking regular ballet classes is a lot more expensive than the average gym membership.

"I'm sorry Mama"

"I said enough! Now, Present yourself!".

At times I get a little distracted, because of my Mother's insanely high expectations on extensions and wonderfully expressive port de bras. The more pressure it was for me for being the daughter of Prima Ballerina and the first Filipina to ever join the Paris Opera Ballet in 1984, I was not given an exemption and special treatment which is good for my own learning. My mom would always teach me the barre which was fast-paced, with plenty of quick degagées, developpées and enveloppées, and lots of balances.

"Shoulders down!, stomach in!, tailbone tucked under!" This is where I get corrected the most. Imagine you had an amazing neckless that you want to show off

"Back and neck tall, chin up and chest brought up and forward ever so slightly - without expanding your lungs." With quick echappées and single leg passée releves in the center, I then realized Ballet Classes were no joke. Ballet is hard. Even after thousands of tendues and plies and practice it doesn't really get any easier. There are always new things to learn, and old stuff to improve upon just like life.

"Stretch the knees. Dead straight and linear!" My mom would always advised me to use the inner thighs to achieve this, "The inner thighs should be active whatever you do in ballet" She kept on watching my every move at that time like a hawk targeting his prey, roaming around and checking if I have done it correctly. And I always feel nervous whenever my Mom approached my way because I found my inner thigh muscles quite weak

"Stomach in! The central core muscles are everything! This is where you get all the strength to do all the movements." Again, mine are quite weak and I noticed it in particularly in developpe and grand battement. These are the very things we get reminded of over and over again.

Footprints on my HeartTahanan ng mga kuwento. Tumuklas ngayon