The old woman simply placed her bag against the wall. Then she slowly walked to the center of the room.
The students watched what was happening with curiosity.
“What are you going to do?” Daniel asked.
— I’ll just show you something.
The woman got into a preparatory position.
The room fell silent again. At first, no one took her seriously.
But after just a few seconds the smiles began to disappear.
The woman smoothly raised her arms. Then, without the slightest effort, she performed several classic movements.
Every position was perfectly calibrated. The back remained impeccably straight. The shoulders were dropped exactly as required in academic ballet.
After that, she easily performed a series of spins.
The laughter in the hall stopped completely.
Then the woman took a few more steps diagonally across the hall.
Her movements were so light and precise, as if a young professional ballerina were performing in front of them.
But the real shock was yet to come.
The woman paused. Slowly braced herself. Then she performed a high grand battement.
The leg rose so high that many students involuntarily gasped.
There was complete silence in the hall. A few seconds later, the first applause broke out.
It was Daniel. Then the students joined him. A moment later, the entire hall was standing and applauding.
The choreographer approached the woman.
There was genuine confusion on his face.
– Forgive me.
The woman smiled.
– For what?
– For everything I said.
« Don’t worry. You just jumped to conclusions too early. »
Daniel shook his head.
– Who are you?
The woman was silent for a moment.
— I started doing ballet when I was two years old.
The students looked at each other in surprise.
— Later, I danced in the country’s leading theaters for almost forty years.
Several people have already started to remember something.
The woman gave her name.
And at that moment, one of the senior teachers, who happened to be passing by the open door, literally froze in place.
– Can’t be…
He looked at her as if he had seen a legend.
– It’s her.
Soon many began to understand who stood before them.
Before them was a woman whose name was once known to almost every ballet lover.
Her photographs were published in magazines, and tickets to performances with her participation were sold out in a matter of hours.
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