28 Books - Day 3

Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild (1937)

"The Fossil sisters lived in the Cromwell Road. At that end of it which is farthest away from the Brompton Road, and yet sufficiently near it so one could be taken to look at the dolls' houses in the Victoria and Albert every wet day. If the weather were not too wet, one was expected to "save the penny and walk." (page 7)

When I was seven or eight or so, my Mom signed me up for a series of ballet lessons. There was a little studio above the local movie theater. Every Wednesday night I got poured into some pink tights and shipped off to class. I don't remember much about the classes themselves. I remember we had a recital at the end of the year, and our music had something to do with weddings as I remember having lace sewed onto my leotard.

The theory was to take an awkward tomboy girl and turn her into a graceful swan. (Future tap and gymnastics lessons went along the same lines). But I didn't have it in me to practice enough to make it more than a passing fancy. Plus, those damn tights itched!

But I liked the idea of being a ballerina ... and Ballet Shoes is a book I've read over and over again.

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