Last week we were notified that Natalie's dance studio will close after this season after 21 years in our community. The news sent me reeling and caused Natalie to immediately burst into tears. You see, it's not just a studio to us nor all of the other families. It's a treasured gift.
Miss Katie, Natalie's teacher, is a beautiful dancer. More than that, she's a beautiful person. She loves on our little girls like they're her own grandchildren, kissing boo boos, holding hands, giving tender hugs, smiling with pride at a new step. With kind and patient words she guides these young ladies through stretches, exercises and other modern dance techniques. She's teaching them to dance, yes, but she's also teaching them to respect their bodies and strength, to try new things, to listen, to follow instruction, to dream, to work as a team, to make something beautiful.
Natalie has blossomed at her studio. Already outgoing and daring, she's learned to hone those skills, channeling them into graceful movements. She twirls, skips and plies with bright and beaming eyes. At dance class, she isn't training to become the dancer of her dreams. She IS the dancer of her dreams.
The most amazing moment happens at the end of each class, when the girls line up downstage in the leaping line. Miss Katie turns on a lively song on the stereo and signals to the first girl. She bursts from the line in a run, streaming through the length of the room. As she approaches a small square marked in the ancient hardwood floor, she pushes off with her back leg and leaps through the air, arms flung wide to her sides like wings. Time stops for just a second as she glides through the air, free and lifted. She lands and leaps again and again until her turn is too quickly over.
I catch my breath as Natalie races into her first leap, but I'm just as emotional for every girl. The confidence, the hope and the beauty they exude during this simple exercise is exactly why I love this studio so much.
You can't get that just anywhere.
It's a gift.
And now it's almost gone.
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