The Ballerina & The Devil

Forty Two. The Ballerina, The Devil, and His Maker

"You're so focused on doing the leap that your attention is straying away from the starting position," she explained patiently. "The starting position is your base, and the base is the most important part of any move in ballet. It's like constructing a building. Without a strong foundation the building will come tumbling down. Right?"

"Right," I replied testily, still annoyed she pushed me so unceremoniously.

"That attitude will get you nowhere in life," Michelle said breezily, waving a hand. "Back in position."

"Are you going to push me again?"

"Oh, don't be so dramatic," she rolled her eyes.

I bit down on my tongue so I wouldn't stick it out and moved back into my position. This time I focused on my "base" just as Michelle said to.

"Better," she circled around me, nodding. "Much better. You're firm which means you're in complete control. Something else you need to focus on: power. Make sure you're pushing through your toe when you make the jump, not just the ball of your foot and your leg. You're guaranteed to gain even more power."

"Okay," I nodded, ingraining her words into my head.

She walked over to her previous position in front of the mirror. She tilted her head. "Go ahead."

I inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, mentally preparing myself. If I failed this jump again I vowed to quit ballet and flee the country.

I paused for one more short moment, mentally preparing myself, and then launched myself in the air, using my left leg, and my toe, to push myself forcefully from the floor. I stretched my legs out in a split mid-air. My right foot was brought down, and I landed with my knee bent. My left leg was kept extended outward as if they were still in the jump.

I lowered my arms as I pulled my back leg down and moved it gracefully so that it was now pointed out in front as it was at the start.

Michelle stared at me expectantly, giving no emotion away. "What do you think?"

"I think....that was the best I could do."

She cracked a grin and nodded. "Me too. Ten more times."

And I did so with no compliant. Five more times were spent performing the jump on its own, and the next five were incorporated back into the dance sequence. After the exercise, I ran through the full dance routine five more times before Michelle finally decided I had  gone through enough.

"Demi," Michelle called, stopping me from leaving the studio.

I turned to look at her, shifting my dance bag on my shoulder. She was seated on the floor with a clipboard in hand, writing something down.

"Yeah?"

She looked up and beamed at me. "I just wanted to tell you I feel really good about this dance."

I smiled, my excitement seeping through. It was rare Michelle felt good about anything that involved her dancers. She also managed to find something that could be better, so the fact that she was sitting there with a satisfied smile on her face telling me what she was telling me made my heart flip in a pleasant way.