18

I remember showing my former Polish-German physiotherapist the programme book on the Don Quixote and International Ballet Gala held in Malaysia many years ago. I was recounting how I was completely immersed into the performance to her, while she was looking through the book, stopping at a page that had a picture of one of the dancers in an upright position. It was then that she suggested that I take up ballet to improve my condition.

I didn’t realise how serious she was about it at that point until she also asked about looking around for a ballet studio nearby. I was half squealing in excitement, but I was also anxious. Ballet has always been something that I wanted to do. At the same time, I had to account for my reduced stamina. What do I do? Will there be those who could understand me?

Well, I decided to push those doubts away and re-connect with one of my former classmates in secondary school who was a ballet teacher attached to a studio near my residence. I was then introduced to the studio director who told me that she has dealt with those who have the will to increase their physical and mental capacities. So I thought “There, I think I’ve found the right person”. After a few months, we parted ways due to reasons I can vaguely remember.

Not wanting to give up on ballet so easily, especially when I didn’t want to let my leotard and ballet shoes go to waste, I took to the Internet (weeks later) and did some searching. After about a few minutes, I found myself e-mailing a pleasant-looking lady about my condition and what I had in mind. I also told myself to give her a few weeks to reply.

To my surprise and delight, she actually replied to me on the same day! We set an appointment to meet up with her at her spacious studio, which left me in awe. Just from the first meeting with her, I could tell that she genuinely wanted those under her tutelage to be the best that they can be.

I can tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed classes with her as she was systematic and extremely patient. Unlike the typical ballet classes that I was expecting, she tried her level best to make classes as accessible as possible for me. For example, if she noticed that I was getting tired, she would stop the class at the 45-minute mark.

Speaking of misconceptions of ballet, I used to think that only females would be interested in ballet. I can now say for sure that I was very wrong. Every single time, just before my session, there will be a group class. In that group, there was always this one male who would inject some life into the studio. Yes, I had been observing in silence while waiting for my class to start.

As much as I enjoyed the ballet classes, we had to (un)fortunately bid goodbye, as she recommended that I went for Pilates sessions instead. As of the time of publishing, I’m still unsure what to do with my outfit.