infant ingénues
imagining woods and sylphs
whilst Madame tutted and rasped
with her smoker's cough
and we wished for the swish
of tulle and satin shoes
of perfect pliés and points
for turning circles on mirrored glass
to the tune of a Chopin polonaise 

in wrinkled tights and small tutus
we danced the love of the lure
slowly - the way swans died
and the fated faded inconsolably
we were wisps spirited away
on a virtuoso violin
'til the varnish wore thin
and the Prima Donna dreams
became a step too far for tiny feet

27 thoughts on “the ballet class”

1. Oh how perfectly you captured my one-time yearning to be a ballet dancer 🙂

   1. ah we wanted the dream but perhaps not built for the arabesque – I took up riding instead!

      1. Mm, yes. I did that too 🙂

2. Oh the hopes and dreams of a young wannabe ballerina…gone like the dying swans…’sniff’

   1. gone on the wind of the next whim

3. You have those ballet terms down….you must be a true dancer…you certainly are with words. This is sweet Laura!

   1. not a dancer at all but I like the way the words dance!

4. I wonder if there were a parent dreaming too… but I can see the little girl in you trying her best.

   1. no parental dreams but a little girl who was mesmerised when taken to see the Nutcracker

5. Oh, I can see my girls in this. All those tulle dreams, the ballet shoes, the recitals… sigh. Great write! Thanks so much for writing for the prompt!

   1. thanks for the prompt Susie and for the memories that came trotting out

6. Oh, how i loved this, especially the second stanza. Beautiful.

   1. Thank you Sherry – reassured that the dancer had not faded out by the second stanza

7. This reminds me of many hours spent watching my daughter and her classmates practice and perform their dances. They were so cute when they were 4-year-olds learning the steps, and they became so accomplished over the years. Beautiful words. Happy memories. 🙂

   1. All the generations relate!

8. How this reminds me of taking daughters to ballet classes and hoping as they did too,that more would come of it but…those dreams faded away as teenage years presented other lures.

   1. Indeed only the dedicated keep their eye on the spotlight

9. I had those dreams, too! I love the details of Madame tutting and rasping with her smoker’s cough, the alliteration in ‘we wished for the swish / of tulle and satin shoes’, and the ‘wrinkled tights and small tutus’.

   1. Oh it’s good how our memories connect with each other’s

10. There’s such a fragrant sense here of impeccable yearning at the bar no one can reach. So finely wrought and recalled.

    1. I like the reference – barreing indeed but set too high for most

11. a bittersweet recollection of a ballerina’s dream. Lovely, Laura!

    1. Isn’t bittersweet a lovely taste? Thank you!

12. the dreams of a little girl… horses were the natural progression 🙂

    1. followed by boys

13. Lot of dancing went on in that little studio
    LOL
    “til the varnish wore thin”

    Much love…

    1. I like that! ❤

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