A Teen Toes the Line
by Karen Williams | December 09, 2005
Seminole Chronicle
An interest in ballet came over my daughter suddenly and, frankly, I had my doubts.
"Aren't you supposed to start ballet when you're much younger?" I asked my teenager as I drove her to her first class at Orlando City Ballet in Tuscawilla.
"I did start when I was younger," Emily replied. "Remember? I was seven."
"Yes, but that was in Oregon, and you hated the rigors of it. I had to bribe you with Barbie dolls to get you to finish the one-month session I'd paid for."
"I know - I loved those dolls. But I'm more disciplined now."
I had to zip my lip.
Disciplined? Here's a girl whose idea of cleaning her room is wadding up all the clothes on the floor and stuffing them under the bed.
Her idea of cleaning the kitchen is eating the leftovers. And when I beseech her to vacuum the floor, she hurls at me the famous Roseanne Barr quote: "I'm not going to vacuum 'til Sears makes one you can ride on!"
I suspected that her interest in ballet would last about as long as it took my check for her tuition to clear the bank.
I, myself, yearned to take ballet lessons as a child, but since there was no teacher in my small Midwest town, plus most people pronounced it as "bal-lette," the atmosphere wasn't conducive.
I finally took my one and only ballet class in my 20s after I'd moved to a city.
Since I'm short of stature ("vertically challenged" in today's parlance), the exercises where a dancer puts one foot on a bar and proceeds to do graceful movements found me practically dangling in the air, flailing my arms and hollering for help.
The teacher would rush over and adjust my foot so that it made loud, bone-cracking noises, which didn't change things, other than I was then dangling from the bar and in intense pain.
If only I'd started when I was younger and taller, the outcome might have been different.
Emily attended ballet classes for months without a hint of dissatisfaction. I'd figured her commitment would lag right after I shelled out money for her leotard and tights. Nope.
When she eventually became ready for toe shoes, I just knew she'd lose interest after I footed that bill. Once again, she proved me wrong.
Then she told me she was actually going to dance in the "Nutcracker" - a perennial holiday treat - with the ballet company.
Surprised and delighted, I watched her perform as a soldier, angel and Spanish dancer in the first of this season's enchanting productions in November.
I couldn't have been prouder, even if she had vacuumed our entire house and sanitized the toilets.
Orlando City Ballet/Russian Academy of Ballet and my Emily will present a free performance of "The Nutcracker" at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at Lake Eola.
They will also perform at the Plaza Theater, 425 N. Bumby Ave., at 3 p.m. Sunday and Dec. 18. Tickets are available at 407-273-1163.
The Sunday's performance will feature two principal dancers from American Ballet Theatre in New York.
As I watch, I'll know in my heart that, with a little more stature or a little shorter bar, that could have been me.
Maybe that will actually be Emily some day - a prima ballerina.
And I suppose no one will give a rip whether she has a messy room - as long as she can find her tutu.
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Copyright 2005, Karen Williams
