Standing behind the heavy curtain, I quiet my excited mind. Deep breaths. Violins play the familiar ascending scale as I instinctively spread my feet into the floor. Filling my lungs, I offer up a quiet prayer. When the curtain rises, the cool air from the theater rushes across the stage. Someone in the audience gasps. Seventeen women awash in blue lighting stand feet facing forward in full-length tulle skirts. Their right arms are outstretched with palms softly flexed as if blocking the sun. I look past my hand into the cavernous space beyond—a moment that always calms me. I’m ready.
Leslie Jonas is a former professional ballet dancer currently residing in Boston with her dog Ernie. She is working as a graphic designer. jonasdesign.com