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“Why? We put that on stage last year. The director told me we’ll do Coppelia for the Autumn festival.”
Miss Rosa rolled her eyes. The Autumn festival was a very dear recital to me, but she was not so impressed with it. For seven days, the Palermo dancing school was open every night. I was the lead ballerina of the show for five years in a row, and sure, maybe that had something to do with my father, but I still loved it.
“Just in case, Grazia.”
“In case of what?”
“If you decide to go and try out for a ballet company, wherever that may be, you’re going to need an auditioning number. If I leave, I want you to be ready for anything. Monday morning, eight thirty,” she pointed at me, “be ready.”
“Yes,Madame.”
“Go now. I’m tired of watching you move around like a graceless duck. We’ll try again next week.”
“Yes,Madame.” I repeated myself and walked into the locker room where a few young girls were spinning around trying to nail anEn-dedanspirouette. My classes were private and usually would prolong until Miss Rosa and I would be the only ones in the studio, but it wasn’t so late today.
The two girls saw me and stopped. They couldn’t have been older than ten, juniors, and they looked adorable in their little pink leotards and pigtails. Nowadays, I preferred black to pink and kept my hair in a tight bun, but there were some pictures above the fireplace in my house, where I looked just like them.
“Flex your leading leg and keep your back straight,” I told them, “It will help you keep your balance.
One of them tried it again and it was better. Still not great, but better.
“I did it.”
“Almost.” I smiled and patted her head. “Keep practicing.”
“Can you show us?” The little girl batted her eyelashes.
“Don’t you have an instructor to help you?”
“We do. Miss Patricia Valentine, but she says it’s too early. We only started a few months ago.”
“Oh, ok.” They were old to start just now, so that’s why they were behind. I started at four years old and even had some three-year-olds in my class back then. “I can show you.”
I could spin on my left leg for an hour without trembling once. There was no harm in dancing around for a second. I got up on my tiptoe, put my arms in position and started spinning. I only did six rotations before stopping, but by the way the girls were looking at me, all wide-eyed and excited, someone could believe I just did a back flip.
“Wow,” one of them whispered, “you are so good.”
“I had many years to practice.”
“Can you be my teacher?”
Her question made me giggle. “I’m afraid I’m still a student.” At least for a little while I was, “Miss Patricia is great. You’ll do it better than me soon enough.”
They left smiling and whispering something about how my legs looked. I couldn’t hear, but hoped I left them with a good impression. I was almost done gathering my things, ready to walk out when my phone started ringing and I saw my sister-in-law, Rebecca, was calling. Three out of my seven brothers were married and I liked all their wives, but Rebecca and I were closer. Maybe because she used to live right down the street from us and maybe because she was the one who held my hair back the first time I found my father’s stash of vodka. I didn’t get to see her so often since they moved outside of the city, but we still talked a few times a week.
“Hey, you!” I answered her enthusiastically.
“Ma che fai, mia sorella?[9]You don’t have weekend plans, do you?”
“No. Why, what’s going on this weekend?”
“Ah, not much. Giovani is having the guys over for some poker and I’m going to take the kids to visit my parents in Lake Como.”
“Didn’t you just come back from a vacation?”
“Last night, yes.” She said and I laughed. My brother would better find some new ways to make more money, so he could keep up. “My mom has been talking my ear off to bring Emiliano and Victoria so she could see them.”
“That’s nice. What do you need me for?”
