For the performance of “Swan Lake,” her costume is a work of art. Snow-white tulle glittering with diamonds, all of it sewn perfectly to her lithe and delicate figure. Not to mention her stage make-up illuminating her face: ruby-red lips against a startling white powder and beautiful wide eyes, telling a story to the audience.
Her hair is pulled back into a tight and elegant bun, not a hair out of place. She fastens the ribbons of her new shiny satin pointe shoes, just broken in. The illusion of effortlessness, everything new and clean.
Anna steps behind the curtain now, behind the other dancers, getting ready to take her place on stage and steal the audience in the most captivating, hauntingly beautiful ballet there ever was.
Anna swallows nervously but keeps her head up. The audience is now packed, the bright lighting of the stage giving her the energy that she needs. She is now Odette, the beautiful white swan. She glides whisper-quiet across the stage; shy, beautiful, and timid. The prince is captivated; she has won his heart. She dances with elegance and grace, lost in the music of the ballet. After hundreds of pirouettes, leaps, arabesques and sautés, practiced endlessly in the studio for the past year, she quickly steps off the stage for intermission and gratefully gulps down her cold bottled water.
Anna watches backstage as her character is replaced by the dark and seductive Odile, the devious black swan. She could have sworn that, for a split second, the other dancer glared at her disdainfully before stepping on stage, as if she were taunting her. It’s just your imagination, she told herself. Focus! Odile leaps across the stage, black tutu against a deceiving white, legs stretching forever into the night, beckoning the prince to her with a sweet smile...
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