This is an additional blog - the narrative of Scarlet Company's physical theatre piece for the Christmas shows...I was inspired and thought they might like to see their story in print...scroll down for my mainstream blog of this week - readiness...
She knew it wasn’t going to be easy –
committing to a career in dance was infamously difficult – she knew there were
no short cuts…that every inch of progression was only achievable through hard
work…but she was prepared to do it…prepared to work as hard as she could
because of how dancing felt when she was truly absorbed by it…when she allowed
herself to be entirely enslaved to it…
To move,
to leap, to fly, to glide, to dance,
To
connect with every living soul.
No
feeling like it, all thought entranced.
Perfect
placement, yet within the control
Such
freedom unfettered, beyond compare.
Alive
from finger tips to the ends of feet,
Ev’ry
nerve, ev’ry sinew, entirely aware,
Knowing
in that moment you are complete.
A gift to
be taken, vital to teach,
To dance
as if no one is watching you,
You’re
alone in a place out of reach
And a
deepened self-knowledge ensues
What you
are, what you’ve been, what you will be
Awake to
ev’ry possibility
It was
only when she thought about what her friends were able to do…about the freedom
they had that she felt any regret…while she grafted and sweated it out in the
rehearsal room knowing her grades at school were suffering she knew they were
at the cinema, out in town…with friends…carefree…they didn’t have to worry
about the next exam, the next show, the next competition…it was all she had
time to care about it…
At least
Julian understood – he would wait for her to finish class and then walk her
home – a few stolen moments of company, of freedom from responsibility…time for
her mind and body to rest and her heart to be restored…somehow he seemed to
understand that her priority would always be dance…she was lucky to have found
him…
That
night though she had shrugged him off – hardly noticed as he walked off sad and
bewildered…as soon as she picked up the red shoes she had known that nothing in
the world was more important than putting them on…
There was a voice in her head...it asked her, "What do you want?"
"To dance," she replied
"And what will you give?"
"Anything..."
As soon as she answered a
darkness descended upon her in the form of the spirits of all the dancers that
the red shoes had danced to their death…they began to impel her to dance -
slowly at first – beautiful fleeting duets – she felt the grace and beauty of
her partners and was inspired by it…then the dancing became more frenetic – she
wanted to stop but she was powerless…nothing she did could stop the
momentum…she was spun and twisted and turned…the shoes had a life of their
own…their was no escape…after what felt like an eternity she was lifted into
the air and then dropped to the ground – the spirits were about to consume
her…when all of a sudden they were gone and in their place stood Julian…he had
come back to her…chased the spirits away with his care and selflessness - he
removed the shoes and took her hand…she was safe…
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