While they were talking I had gotten my dance clothes and slipped out of the room and down the stairs to the basement where the dance studio was.

Once in the dressing room I slightly slipped off my old clothes and into dance wear. Then I pull out my new pointe shoes. My old ones had broken a few days ago and I hadn't had time to break them in. Slowly I started to bend them, slowly breaking them in.

The lambs wool felt soft against my toes and I stepped into the studio. One wall of mirrors, one wall of the barre and two empty. The room was quite, not a sound other than my breathing. I walk over to the speaker, my foot steps echoing off the walls. I select a song and walk back to the middle of the room. I stay still a second to soak in the beat. Then, I dance, moving like a swan on water, or an eagle in the air, a tiger stalking it's prey, until I am forced to stop.