So sad
(WARNING: this post may contain introspection.)
I'm getting ready to take my summer vacation. At last! I'm sure it's summer somewhere, but it sure isn't either here in Northern California or at my vacation destination. I'm going back to Georgia to visit my dad for about a week and a half. To prepare, I'm gradually getting in touch with the 3 people I know that are still in Georgia. (If you are in Georgia but are not one of those 3, send me an email!) In doing so, I have discovered a tragedy.
My home ballet school, Athens School of Ballet, has closed! Oh no! I had hoped to take a ballet class while I was back home, so I tried to find the schedule online. Curiously, the website no longer exists. I worried that this might be a bad omen, but didn't put too much weight on it. Probably the domain name expired and they hadn't fixed it yet, I decided. So yesterday I sent Miss Marianne an email. There went the element of surprise, but oh well. Except... the email bounced! Things were starting to get sinister! Even more sinister was that it wasn't listed in Yahoo's yellow pages. Yikes! But a labmate told me that you now have to pay to be on Yahoo's yellow pages. Hmmm. All was not yet lost. Then, finally, I stumbled onto this little blurb that Google remembers from the former website:
Athens School of Ballet has been gone for nearly a year! Sniffle. And apparently everybody knew but me. At least, both of the ballet buddies I emailed late last night did. From them I learned that Miss Marianne is teaching ballet in a neighboring county (I haven't been able to discover where since all google finds of her is associated with Athens School of Ballet). Boo. It's partly that county's fault that the studio closed in the first place. (There was something of an exodus from Athens to it, ostensibly for its "better schools". In fact, its school system was worse, just with fewer black kids...)
I suppose it's natural that as you grow up, move away, and establish roots wherever you land, the place where you grew up becomes less and less of a home to you. Little by little, I'm losing my connections to Athens, and it's very sad to me. I no longer have a house or family there; very, very few of my friends remain there; and now my home ballet school is gone. Really, Athens School of Ballet, the associated company Athens Ballet Theatre, and Miss Marianne were crucially important to me. They really helped define who I am today. Most obviously, I've never quite been able to eradicate Prunella from my personality. So it's a big deal to me that the studio is gone. I still love Athens, am bursting with Athens-pride, consider it to be my home. But now, whenever I'm there, I don't really have anywhere to go. (That is, nowhere to go when I'm not eating at my favorite restaurants or hanging out at the Five Points Jittery Joe's.)
Very sad.
Also sad is that my toepad popped a while ago. I hate pointe, but I'm pretty sure Cara would never allow me to quit... Pretty much the only things that keep me on my toes (heh heh) are these toepads. Six or seven years ago, I started using these sissy, gel toepads. They're awesome. They really make a huge difference. My feet are definitely not meant for pointework. My second toe is noticeably longer than the rest of them, and they taper off rapidly. If only I had my sister's blocky toes and high arches! (And what does she do with them? ;D) The idea behind my sissy toepads is that the gel smooshes around to where it's needed most, in effect equalizing toe length. People like to make fun of my dependence on them, especially after I failed to find them anywhere a few years ago. Everyone loved to predict their demise, and, subsequently, my own. Well, the unthinkable finally happened. The right toepad popped. The gel, which is remarkably sticky, smooshed out of a small hole. I sealed it with duct tape, but that only holds the gel in for a few days before it finds a way to smoosh around the tape. The horror. To my delight, however, my toepads seem to have come back! Discount Dance Supply carries them again! Hooray! I ordered a new pair today. I won't be forced to endure terrible toe pain with less sissy toepads! (They're frightfully expensive, so even though they aren't the relic species they were formerly believed to be, they'd better last!)
I'm getting ready to take my summer vacation. At last! I'm sure it's summer somewhere, but it sure isn't either here in Northern California or at my vacation destination. I'm going back to Georgia to visit my dad for about a week and a half. To prepare, I'm gradually getting in touch with the 3 people I know that are still in Georgia. (If you are in Georgia but are not one of those 3, send me an email!) In doing so, I have discovered a tragedy.
My home ballet school, Athens School of Ballet, has closed! Oh no! I had hoped to take a ballet class while I was back home, so I tried to find the schedule online. Curiously, the website no longer exists. I worried that this might be a bad omen, but didn't put too much weight on it. Probably the domain name expired and they hadn't fixed it yet, I decided. So yesterday I sent Miss Marianne an email. There went the element of surprise, but oh well. Except... the email bounced! Things were starting to get sinister! Even more sinister was that it wasn't listed in Yahoo's yellow pages. Yikes! But a labmate told me that you now have to pay to be on Yahoo's yellow pages. Hmmm. All was not yet lost. Then, finally, I stumbled onto this little blurb that Google remembers from the former website:
... It is with very heavy hearts that Ms. Linda and I must inform you that after 32 years the Athens School of Ballet will close its doors, taking its final curtain call. Our last day of operation will be December 17. ...
Athens School of Ballet has been gone for nearly a year! Sniffle. And apparently everybody knew but me. At least, both of the ballet buddies I emailed late last night did. From them I learned that Miss Marianne is teaching ballet in a neighboring county (I haven't been able to discover where since all google finds of her is associated with Athens School of Ballet). Boo. It's partly that county's fault that the studio closed in the first place. (There was something of an exodus from Athens to it, ostensibly for its "better schools". In fact, its school system was worse, just with fewer black kids...)
I suppose it's natural that as you grow up, move away, and establish roots wherever you land, the place where you grew up becomes less and less of a home to you. Little by little, I'm losing my connections to Athens, and it's very sad to me. I no longer have a house or family there; very, very few of my friends remain there; and now my home ballet school is gone. Really, Athens School of Ballet, the associated company Athens Ballet Theatre, and Miss Marianne were crucially important to me. They really helped define who I am today. Most obviously, I've never quite been able to eradicate Prunella from my personality. So it's a big deal to me that the studio is gone. I still love Athens, am bursting with Athens-pride, consider it to be my home. But now, whenever I'm there, I don't really have anywhere to go. (That is, nowhere to go when I'm not eating at my favorite restaurants or hanging out at the Five Points Jittery Joe's.)
Very sad.
Also sad is that my toepad popped a while ago. I hate pointe, but I'm pretty sure Cara would never allow me to quit... Pretty much the only things that keep me on my toes (heh heh) are these toepads. Six or seven years ago, I started using these sissy, gel toepads. They're awesome. They really make a huge difference. My feet are definitely not meant for pointework. My second toe is noticeably longer than the rest of them, and they taper off rapidly. If only I had my sister's blocky toes and high arches! (And what does she do with them? ;D) The idea behind my sissy toepads is that the gel smooshes around to where it's needed most, in effect equalizing toe length. People like to make fun of my dependence on them, especially after I failed to find them anywhere a few years ago. Everyone loved to predict their demise, and, subsequently, my own. Well, the unthinkable finally happened. The right toepad popped. The gel, which is remarkably sticky, smooshed out of a small hole. I sealed it with duct tape, but that only holds the gel in for a few days before it finds a way to smoosh around the tape. The horror. To my delight, however, my toepads seem to have come back! Discount Dance Supply carries them again! Hooray! I ordered a new pair today. I won't be forced to endure terrible toe pain with less sissy toepads! (They're frightfully expensive, so even though they aren't the relic species they were formerly believed to be, they'd better last!)
Labels: ballet
posted by Meg at
11:23 AM
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