And the Curtain Lifted

“Kids, I shouldn’t see space between your knees in first position. Before you  plié , the insides of your legs should be glued together, like a single leg.” It’s Ms. Michele’s first correction of the day to the 15 or so of us teenagers lined up at the barre in a nondescript ballet studio in a nondescript warehouse in Acworth, GA .  Her words are spoken after she gives us a  plié  combination, which is the first exercise of a ballet class and involves slow bends of the knees and arms to begin warmup. Each of us stand facing her, one hand at the barre, our feet turned out from our hips in the effort to achieve the 180-degree line, toe-to-toe, that is known in the ballet world as “first position.” We arch our backs and extend our fingers and point our toes in simple shapes, in preparation for the more extreme movements that will come later. It is a day early in the fall – perhaps sometime in September -- and this far south, still warm enough for the garage door that comprises the back