Ever since Josette received her letter informing her of her acceptance into the Shanachie Ballet troupe she had been carrying it around with her as if she still did not fully believe it was all real. Every so often she would slip it from her bag, needing to have the tactile feeling of the letter in her hands, fingers drifting over the ink as if the unique glyphs in the whorls of her fingertips could absorb the words. She wanted to carry them within her so she would not forget that when the universe closes one door, it does indeed open another—often when we least expect it.
Her hands were shaking so badly when she initially opened the envelope, she actually dropped it twice. Having chosen the anonymity of a local tea shop to open it, she finally asked a kind faced woman sitting at the table next to her to read it for her. She did not know what compelled her to do so, but she wanted to share the moment with someone. A person with no prior knowledge of who she was, or her prior health issues. Someone who would not puncture such a vulnerable moment for her with knife pricks of doubt, only to flood her with more questions and concerns no matter how well meaning. She loved her mother and brother deeply, but she knew in her heart this was not something either of them would easily understand or accept.
After recovering from the initial shock over not only earning a place in the troupe, but as a principal dancer, tears spilled over as well as her tea which had gone cold when she jumped up to hug the woman in a moment of purely unfiltered joy and exuberance. Josette thanked her stars that the woman had a sense of humor, for she laughed and returned the hug to congratulate her with genuine warmth. Despite the near miss in soaking the poor woman with mint leaves! But along with the tears, an overwhelming sense of gratitude welled up within her for the opportunity. She never thought she would have such a chance again in this lifetime after she had to leave the Paris Opera Ballet. Along with her father's failing health at the time, it was a large part of the reason she had chosen to leave Paris to travel with Isaac.
Still coming off the elation of receiving her acceptance letter, Josette could not wait to get into the one of the eight rehearsal rooms in the attic of the theater. Having arrived at the theater very early, she wanted to drink in as much as she could of the space and all of its scents and sounds before warming up on the barre in the rehearsal room. Each theater had its own unique energy and such a rich history of ripples that each performance left, not only the audience and its performers, but within the space itself.
She intended to stop by Anthony's office to thank him again for the opportunity, but he already had a queue of people lining up outside of his door for a word, so instead of adding to the already long line, she made her way up to one of the rehearsal rooms where she would be spending the lion's share of her time to begin warming up at the barre.
She could feel the echoes of performances past as she explored more of the theater, all of the excitement, trepidation and joy along with the sorrows and frustrations that came along with any performance space. Intensely empathic and emotive by nature, Josette absorbed so much of the world around her like a sponge to the point that it sometimes exhausted her. Yet as an artist, it was as necessary as breathing for her and it was her greatest strength as a dancer. She knew instinctively that whatever she took in around her could be called up and filtered into a breathtaking moment on stage and inspiration was everywhere.
There is a poignancy to the many facets of humanity that Josette held an immense amount of respect for in her heart and she loved translating that into the art of dance. Since the beginning, stories were communicated with the language of the body long before they were ever conveyed in words. The extension of the arm was not only a beautiful piece of choreography, but a visual dialogue of love and longing.
Since coming to Rhy"Din with all of its exotic beauty and diversity, it only deepened this respect and widened the spectrum of inspiration for her. She was so looking forward to working towards being a valued addition to this company and hoped that her unique talents could be honed even further and lend something truly special to the troupe and its performances.
In her performance of Giselle at the Paris Opera Ballet, many critics in Paris cited their surprise in the nuances Josette was able to bring to the role with such an emotional depth and breadth that was surprising in a dancer of her years. For along with being able to convey Giselle's innate fragility and purity of spirit, her descent into madness requires a gravitas rarely seen in dancer so young.
Still, she knew her strength and endurance training needed work after her time away from dancing and she intended to show up early and work hard with Irina to do whatever it took to get her to where she needed to be. As a dancer you could give a beautifully moving performance, but if you did not have the physical strength and endurance to carry it through the second act, you were dead in the water. Josette knew she was working alongside some of the most exceptionally talented dancers she had ever seen.
Going through the audition process and attending one of the performances of the Summer Gala when she came to Rhy'Din only further cemented this fact for her. Anya De Luca had been not only an inspiration, but a revelation with her astounding forty-six fouett's en tournant. as Odile. Not to mention her pas de deux with Anthony, from Romeo and Juliet. It was rare to see such love communicated between two dancers on stage and it made all their performance of the star crossed lovers. The energy between the two was intensely palpable for the audience and clearly a crowd favorite.
Merethyl displayed an otherworldly quality in her technique and a level of perfection to her craft that she had yet to see in the earth realm and Jamie exuded a remarkable confidence and power in his dancing that was magnetic. Christian Benoit's journey to Rhy'Din served as an inspiration to her as well and made her feel far less alone in her circumstance.
As one of the newer additions to the troupe and a principal at that, she knew she would have to work hard to prove herself and had absolutely no intention of letting the company down for giving her this chance. This was a fresh start for her.
The echoes of her disappointment had followed her everywhere in Paris. Each face she met in a caf" or restaurant became a mirror to the pain she was struggling with internally. When you hear something often enough, it becomes increasingly difficult to be able to shake and if you are just vulnerable enough, it begins to seep into the cracks and you start to believe it yourself. She could not bear the looks of pity everywhere she went. "Such a shame." "What a tragedy." "So much talent—such a waste." Josette felt caught in a revolving door of words that she could not escape no matter where she went. Shame. Tragedy. Waste. Eventually, her body began to listen to these words and it was difficult to avoid the glare of the headlines that seemed to block out everything else for her. The City of Light began to dim for her every time she read another dismal variation on how tragic is was that such a bright young star was forced to leave the company before her prime.
Even her classes in the department of Music and Musicology at the Sorbonne did not fill the void, although in many ways, it was instrumental in her healing. Josette would always be grateful to her cello even though dance was always her first love. In many ways, the cello had saved her life after she was forced to stop dancing for a time to heal. All of her mourning and grief had been put into the strings and infused into the wood until it poured out of her into the notes through the music.
"Just get it out of you. I don't care how" her instructor, Edouard, told her one morning. "Scream if you want, cry if you want, rage if you want, but do not retreat inside yourself. Channel it somewhere. Write something, play something, paint something, create something or your grief will eat you alive from the inside. Get out of Paris if it does not feed you any longer. Travel and see new faces and let in new life, taste new food on your tongue. There are other ways than dance. This is a gift, Josette, one that you will be able to draw from and it will help shape you as an artist. This is about expression of the soul. The ballet is a living, breathing organism with many components and facets that unite to take us to that moment of transcendence in performance. You are young, take in as much of this life as you can and you will find your footing again."
She never forgot his words and as she ran her hand along the barre in the rehearsal room she realized that while that first leap of faith may be intimidating, if it is towards your soul's joy, it is worth the risk. In the end, she would have no regrets.
Her hands were shaking so badly when she initially opened the envelope, she actually dropped it twice. Having chosen the anonymity of a local tea shop to open it, she finally asked a kind faced woman sitting at the table next to her to read it for her. She did not know what compelled her to do so, but she wanted to share the moment with someone. A person with no prior knowledge of who she was, or her prior health issues. Someone who would not puncture such a vulnerable moment for her with knife pricks of doubt, only to flood her with more questions and concerns no matter how well meaning. She loved her mother and brother deeply, but she knew in her heart this was not something either of them would easily understand or accept.
After recovering from the initial shock over not only earning a place in the troupe, but as a principal dancer, tears spilled over as well as her tea which had gone cold when she jumped up to hug the woman in a moment of purely unfiltered joy and exuberance. Josette thanked her stars that the woman had a sense of humor, for she laughed and returned the hug to congratulate her with genuine warmth. Despite the near miss in soaking the poor woman with mint leaves! But along with the tears, an overwhelming sense of gratitude welled up within her for the opportunity. She never thought she would have such a chance again in this lifetime after she had to leave the Paris Opera Ballet. Along with her father's failing health at the time, it was a large part of the reason she had chosen to leave Paris to travel with Isaac.
Still coming off the elation of receiving her acceptance letter, Josette could not wait to get into the one of the eight rehearsal rooms in the attic of the theater. Having arrived at the theater very early, she wanted to drink in as much as she could of the space and all of its scents and sounds before warming up on the barre in the rehearsal room. Each theater had its own unique energy and such a rich history of ripples that each performance left, not only the audience and its performers, but within the space itself.
She intended to stop by Anthony's office to thank him again for the opportunity, but he already had a queue of people lining up outside of his door for a word, so instead of adding to the already long line, she made her way up to one of the rehearsal rooms where she would be spending the lion's share of her time to begin warming up at the barre.
She could feel the echoes of performances past as she explored more of the theater, all of the excitement, trepidation and joy along with the sorrows and frustrations that came along with any performance space. Intensely empathic and emotive by nature, Josette absorbed so much of the world around her like a sponge to the point that it sometimes exhausted her. Yet as an artist, it was as necessary as breathing for her and it was her greatest strength as a dancer. She knew instinctively that whatever she took in around her could be called up and filtered into a breathtaking moment on stage and inspiration was everywhere.
There is a poignancy to the many facets of humanity that Josette held an immense amount of respect for in her heart and she loved translating that into the art of dance. Since the beginning, stories were communicated with the language of the body long before they were ever conveyed in words. The extension of the arm was not only a beautiful piece of choreography, but a visual dialogue of love and longing.
Since coming to Rhy"Din with all of its exotic beauty and diversity, it only deepened this respect and widened the spectrum of inspiration for her. She was so looking forward to working towards being a valued addition to this company and hoped that her unique talents could be honed even further and lend something truly special to the troupe and its performances.
In her performance of Giselle at the Paris Opera Ballet, many critics in Paris cited their surprise in the nuances Josette was able to bring to the role with such an emotional depth and breadth that was surprising in a dancer of her years. For along with being able to convey Giselle's innate fragility and purity of spirit, her descent into madness requires a gravitas rarely seen in dancer so young.
Still, she knew her strength and endurance training needed work after her time away from dancing and she intended to show up early and work hard with Irina to do whatever it took to get her to where she needed to be. As a dancer you could give a beautifully moving performance, but if you did not have the physical strength and endurance to carry it through the second act, you were dead in the water. Josette knew she was working alongside some of the most exceptionally talented dancers she had ever seen.
Going through the audition process and attending one of the performances of the Summer Gala when she came to Rhy'Din only further cemented this fact for her. Anya De Luca had been not only an inspiration, but a revelation with her astounding forty-six fouett's en tournant. as Odile. Not to mention her pas de deux with Anthony, from Romeo and Juliet. It was rare to see such love communicated between two dancers on stage and it made all their performance of the star crossed lovers. The energy between the two was intensely palpable for the audience and clearly a crowd favorite.
Merethyl displayed an otherworldly quality in her technique and a level of perfection to her craft that she had yet to see in the earth realm and Jamie exuded a remarkable confidence and power in his dancing that was magnetic. Christian Benoit's journey to Rhy'Din served as an inspiration to her as well and made her feel far less alone in her circumstance.
As one of the newer additions to the troupe and a principal at that, she knew she would have to work hard to prove herself and had absolutely no intention of letting the company down for giving her this chance. This was a fresh start for her.
The echoes of her disappointment had followed her everywhere in Paris. Each face she met in a caf" or restaurant became a mirror to the pain she was struggling with internally. When you hear something often enough, it becomes increasingly difficult to be able to shake and if you are just vulnerable enough, it begins to seep into the cracks and you start to believe it yourself. She could not bear the looks of pity everywhere she went. "Such a shame." "What a tragedy." "So much talent—such a waste." Josette felt caught in a revolving door of words that she could not escape no matter where she went. Shame. Tragedy. Waste. Eventually, her body began to listen to these words and it was difficult to avoid the glare of the headlines that seemed to block out everything else for her. The City of Light began to dim for her every time she read another dismal variation on how tragic is was that such a bright young star was forced to leave the company before her prime.
Even her classes in the department of Music and Musicology at the Sorbonne did not fill the void, although in many ways, it was instrumental in her healing. Josette would always be grateful to her cello even though dance was always her first love. In many ways, the cello had saved her life after she was forced to stop dancing for a time to heal. All of her mourning and grief had been put into the strings and infused into the wood until it poured out of her into the notes through the music.
"Just get it out of you. I don't care how" her instructor, Edouard, told her one morning. "Scream if you want, cry if you want, rage if you want, but do not retreat inside yourself. Channel it somewhere. Write something, play something, paint something, create something or your grief will eat you alive from the inside. Get out of Paris if it does not feed you any longer. Travel and see new faces and let in new life, taste new food on your tongue. There are other ways than dance. This is a gift, Josette, one that you will be able to draw from and it will help shape you as an artist. This is about expression of the soul. The ballet is a living, breathing organism with many components and facets that unite to take us to that moment of transcendence in performance. You are young, take in as much of this life as you can and you will find your footing again."
She never forgot his words and as she ran her hand along the barre in the rehearsal room she realized that while that first leap of faith may be intimidating, if it is towards your soul's joy, it is worth the risk. In the end, she would have no regrets.