kandasadventures

A had her ballet recital on Sunday, May 22. She had been dancing an hour a week since September at the Pacific Northwest Ballet School, the region's top professional dance school. A had been wanting to dance for years, but she had to be 5 years old before she could enroll at "PNB." There are dozens of dance studios around catering to young girls, some employing teenagers off the street with no concept of body physiology, and others that are con games, charging initially low registration fees but then demanding huge sums for elaborate costumes and mutliple recitals. The PNB school is straight forward and beyond reproach. There is a strict but simple dress code. No frills, no bows, no tutus for the younger students. The focus is on the movement, not on how many ruffles or ribbons are on a girl's leotard. The dance studios are stark white, filled with natural light from skylights, and offer no distractions. Instead of tapes or CDs, a real pianist is there for every class, following the teacher flawlessly, adjusting the tempo or improvising songs as needed. The teachers are professional dancers with decades of dance experience. Despite the sterile surroundings, the teacher's voice is lively, and she describes each movement in playful terms that young children can understand and enjoy. A always ends the class with a breathless smile, eager for the coming week to pass quickly so she will again be back at ballet class. Oh, how she loves to dance!