Skip to main content

Magical Moment 488, "Opposite"

I have so many magical moments that I accidentally see from my corner at the piano when I play for the Beginner's Ballet class. Here is another.
~~

The 5 year olds had a substitute teacher, a serious looking, tall Russian man with a thick accent. A bit intimidating compared to their regular, petite ballerina instructor.
"How you make plie?" He boomed to the little girls. They struggled to understand his words. A few picked up on it though, and they demonstrated a plie, squatting clumsily in their white tights that sagged on their tiny bodies. They giggled at his funny voice, snickering through their nose behind their hand, as if that would mask their silliness.

At this level, the girls were still learning the difference between left and right. It was a 50/50 shot in the dark, and something they weren't too interested in getting it right.
"Fiyrst (first), we do combination to za right, zen to other side." He explained. I wanted to tell him it was hopeless, but instead I watched with a silent smile.

The girls skipped across the floor to the right, with no sense of rhythm to the music I played for them. When it was time to go to the left, the instructor wanted to double check his instruction.
"Now gyirls (girls), which foot we start with?"
They stared at him blankly.
"We just did right. So...what is opposite of right?" he coaxed.
A few girls timidly demonstrated with their foot. One girl muttered, "The other?" They all were puzzled except for one girl, who spoke boldly with confidence.
"WRONG!!!" She proudly yelled over the class.

Well, though her answer wasn't "right, " technically she was just that.

~~
You might enjoy:
The Beginner's Class
The Wiggly Ones are the Happy Ones
I'm For the Children

Comments

Rick said…
Ha ha - thanks for putting a smile on my face Elizabeth !

A magical moment indeed !
TexWisGirl said…
that is too cute. what a sweet story. :)
They are so cute at 5, telling it exactly as they believe! Cute story :)
Ha! I could see that coming when I read how the instructor phrased that question. So cute.
Hilary said…
Adorable. I'm glad you're a witness to their cuteness. It would be terrible for that to fall on deaf ears.

Popular posts from this blog

Magical Moment 620, "Lilac Garden"

Eddie and I visited the Lilac Gardens at Ringwood Manor in New Jersey, a pristine and beautiful state park with 8 species of lilacs and several varieties within. We went on a rainy afternoon, which turned out perfect because the rain stopped for us when we got there, and began again as soon as we left. It also decorated the plants with gorgeous rain drops, adding to their beauty.  And now for a quick game of "Where's Elizabeth?" And "Where's Eddie?" ~~Have a great weekend! ~~

Magical Moment 625, "Thailand - the Elephants"

Needless to say, my favorite part of our Thailand vacation, was our week long volunteering at  Elephant Nature Park ! The logging industry was banned in Thailand in 1989, leaving thousands of elephants unemployed. These elephants are now used for tourism. You may have heard of elephant shows featuring the animals playing soccer or painting pictures with their trunks. They are no doubt amazing to watch, but the sad truth is that these elephants have gone through a series of torture and abuse to "break their spirit" by their trainers. This short clip is very hard to watch, but it will give you an idea of what the elephants in captivity in the country of Thailand go through. The only elephants in Thailand who do  not  endure this, are the very few baby elephants who are first generation born in "safe captivity" at places like Elephant Nature Park. Every other elephant at this park has been brutally abused. Some have been blinded by their owners, le...

"Tijuana, First-hand Facts of the Red-Tent Asylum Process"

My mind is so full of information that I want to share with you all from my week in Tijuana. This post will be just that, information. Factual and first hand. Witnessed and experienced by me. Thousands of migrants from all over the world, mainly from Central America, have traveled to Tijuana’s west U.S. port of entry seeking safety, better economic conditions, and/or to be with family already in the U.S. My motivation for taking this volunteer trip was to help the families in the extreme asylum-seeking cases - those who live in terror and fear both IN their home country and FROM their home country. Gangs and governments work hand in hand to target and terrorize families for their own personal interests. There is a list. The list has numbers on it. Asylum seekers want to get a number from this list and they want their number to be called. Like a deli. I was incapable of finding answers as to who creates this list, who decides how many numbers are on the list, and basically any ot...