On Pointe (Academy of Dance) by Margaret Gurevich

Author:Margaret Gurevich [Gurevich, Margaret]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Stone Arch Books, Academy of Dance, fiction, performing arts/dance, social themes/friendship, girls & women, 9781496578228, 9781496580207, 9781496578242
Publisher: Capstone Press
Published: 2019-03-01T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 6

A Big Adjustment

“What happened?” Grace asks the next day, staring at my bandaged feet. We’re all gathered in the studio to warm up before our all-team ballet class.

When I took off my tights after pointe class last night, my toes were bleeding. Blisters were forming on my heels and the sides of my feet. This morning, my feet were still a mess.

I readjust the bandages and carefully pull my tights on over the top. “Pointe class happened,” I reply.

Brie frowns. “Sorry,” she says. “That looks painful.”

I shrug as if it doesn’t bother me. Except it does. “I looked it up online, and all the ballet sites say it’s common to get blisters when you first start pointe,” I say.

“Maybe you should talk to Ms. Marianne,” Gabby suggests.

I shake my head. “I don’t want her to say I can’t do it.”

Brie bites her lip. “Are you sure?”

I slip on my ballet slippers and plié, trying not to grimace. “See? No problem.”

My friends exchange a worried look, but before they can say anything else, Ms. Marianne enters the studio. Everyone moves to the barre for warm-ups.

Plié and up. Plié and up. I straighten my back to keep smooth lines in my torso.

“Lovely form, ladies,” says Ms. Marianne. “Now relevé!”

I rise to my tiptoes, and my ankles hurt. I bite my lip to stop myself from crying out as I slowly lower my feet to the floor.

“Relevé, arabesque,” Ms. Marianne calls as she walks across the floor.

And up, I tell myself as I rise to the balls of my feet again. I lift my leg behind me for the arabesque and try to block out the pain in my ankles.

Each time Ms. Marianne looks in my direction, I work on keeping my face emotionless. If she sees I’m in pain, she’ll think I can’t handle pointe.

“Line up for grand jetés,” Ms. Marianne instructs.

My stomach drops. If I’m feeling pain with simple moves like pliés and relevés, the jumps will be agony.

You can do this, I tell myself. If only pep talks were enough.

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