After the Ballet

by Y. M. Roger

Come along, Claire, I think we’ve taken up enough of Ms. Aubuchon’s time……..Your performance was truly stunning.

You just remember what I said, Dear…….really, Bryan! Let go of my arm – I can walk just fine by my-

Well, I wasn’t so sure you remembered how to walk, Claire. I mean, you stopped in the Congratulatory Line to actually hug the French Prima Ballerina! People were looking from everywhere! I’m pretty sure you’ll be on the front page of the Entertainm-

Good! All the better for the world to see that she is human and not some show dol-

Here, I’ll get the door, Sweetie……..I think you’re projecting ag-

Thank you, Love……And I am not projecting. Did you even see her performance tonight?

Of course I did, Sweetie, everyone marveled at it. I don’t think there’s ever been……Give me your hand; the ground here is very uneven …… a performance of Swan Lake like Ms. Aubuchon just accomplished. The strength she displayed in those final thirty-two fouettes* was flawless.

Thank you, Love. Where did we park? In the next city?

It’s just another block or so, Sweetie. Is your knee do-

My knee is fine, Love…….And I wasn’t talking about her abilities, Bryan. Did you see her smile?

Her smile was per-

Yes, perfect. It was perfect. Marie Aubuchon’s entire grand pas de deux* was perfect. But her smile, Bryan, her smile was not in those moves. And it was no-

What do you mean ‘her smile was not in her moves’, Claire? That girl’s perfor-

Believe me, Bryan, I can tell when a dancer’s heart is in her moves becau-

Because you’ve been up there – I know, but …… Aaaaah, here we are, Mrs. McCallister, your chariot for the evening.

Finally! I’d begun to think the car was stolen……..Thank you, Mr. McCallister…….And, yes, I have been up there so I know the signs of burnout when I se-

Here, Sweetie, give me your purse. Is your seatbelt done?

Yes, Love, I’m buckled in. Let’s get to the restaurant before the crowds. Anyway, as I was saying, that sweet angel has it in spades.

So, that’s why you broke formal protocol and actually hugged her? Because you think she has burnout? But what if you’re wrong?

If I’m wrong, Love, then she’ll just write me off as another crazy ‘has been’ and never give me another thought. No harm, no foul.

But you gave her one of your dance school business cards, Sweetie, and invited her to join you! I’m thinking Ms. Aubuchon probably took that as an insu-

It was not an insult, Bryan, I’m quite sure I made that clear. Besides, the only reason I invited her was because she hugged me back so tightly. She nee-

Claire! You’re projecting again! You cannot judge a person’s intention by how tightly they hug yo-

Of course you can! If you don’t want or need a hug, you do the little ‘pat-pat thing’, Bryan – everybody knows that. But, after just a slight hesitation, she really, really hugged me back. So, I invited her to my youngest beginner class tomorrow.

Oh, heavens, Claire. You invited the French Prima Ballerina to a class of fat little tots with obnoxious mothers?

Don’t be so mean, Bryan! But, yeah, I guess I did. You know, the parents aren’t allowed into the studi-……Slow down, Love! This is the place.

Hey, that didn’t take us long at all. And look, Sweetie, they saved us a front parking place………I just hope Ms. Aubuchon doesn’t take it the wro-

This is handicap parking, Love! We’ll have to go around the side…..And I’m sure she won’t take it as anything but what it……..Look! There’s a spot over there next to that red Cadillac……Anyway, it was just a gesture from someone who’s been in her shoes, Bryan; I did have a very good reason for inviting her.

I know, Sweetie……..Gosh, I can hardly see the lines for the parking place here. There, I think we’re in…….Sometimes I just think people misread your good-hearted intentions, Claire. I know you mean wel-

That’s their problem, Love, not mi-

Go ahead and answer that, Sweetie, while I go see if they have a table available for us.

You mean you forgot to make reservations? Uuuuuugh, what am I going to do with that man..…Hello? Yes, this is Claire McCallister. Yes, I own Chasing the Dream Dance Studio. Oh, hello, Ms. Aubuchon! Oh, okay, that would be wonderful! Yes. Yes, I have nine three- and four-year olds in that class. Oh, and, tell you what – why don’t you come about a half hour early and we’ll dance barefoot to some of the classics? Great! Then I’ll be expecting you at around noon-thirty or so? Au revoir!

Come on, Sweetie, they’re holding us a table in the back. Who was on the phone?

It was Marie A. confirming our appointment for tomorrow during my youngest beginner class.

Are you serious? Marie Aubuchon, the French Prima Ballerina, is coming to your fat tots cla-

Bryan, stop it! And, no, Marie Aubuchon the French Prima Ballerina is not coming to the beginner class tomorrow. Marie A. is coming to rediscover the smile in her feet.

How is working with a bunch of chubby, uncoordinated tots going to help with that?

Oh, Love, it only takes five minutes in a room with those wide-eyed, ballerina wanna-bees to remember why we all want to dance.

Here, let me get the door for you, Sweetie……..And why is that?

Thank you, Love……..It’s because their dream is still alive, Bryan – and when that music plays and their little feet get it right, their smile encompasses their whole body including their feet.…..and their happiness is projected to the whole room.

Oh, Sweetie, are you crying? Come here and let me hug you really, really tight……..I love you, Mrs. McCallister.

I love you, too, Mr. McCallister, so very much.

You know, you’ll always be my Prima Ballerina.

I know, Love. I know.

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*Fouette is French for "whipped", and it's that whiplash motion of the raised leg that gives a fouette turn its momentum. The ballerina comes off point as her raised free leg is thrust out to the front and immediately sweeps around to the side; but then, as she rises up onto point, her free leg is yanked inward, propelling her in a rapid turn.

*Pas de deux is a dance for two - typically between a man and a woman. A grand pas de deux is a structured pas de deux that typically has five parts: entrance, slow tempo duet, a solo for each, and a conclusion.

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After the Ballet

by Y. M. Roger

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