This morning, I was greeted by this article on Pacific Chamber Ballet's closure via our local newspaper's front page. I'm glad Miss Judy is receiving such a tremendous influx of media coverage--both she and her studio deserve it in spades!!
However, my hope is that all this attention will compel others in the community to do what they can to support her school--either through donations or by enrolling their children in classes. I realize we're down to the wire on both counts but I'm still hopeful... (Sigh)
On a lighter note, I feel very honored to have been interviewed for the article. Of course I said way more than was published (imagine that!), but I felt that my overall thoughts and feelings about the school were conveyed quite nicely. An online photo gallery featuring the girls in class can be seen here.
As I've stated in my previous post, this is such a bittersweet time in our lives right now. While my daughter is now dancing in the school of her dreams, the move comes on the heels of a huge and painful change. Our alma mater, Pacific Chamber Ballet, is closing its doors after 27 years.
PCB was not my only ballet school, but it was the most cherished. It was under Judy's instruction that I was able to take my dancing to a whole new level and was inspired to perhaps one day open my own studio.
To this day, many of Judy's corrections resonate in my head: To lift my head high when executing a grand jete`, to soften my elbows at the barre, and to fully extend through my foot and keep it strong ("You have a beautiful arch-use it!").
Many of those same corrections were given to Abby over the years as well. (Funny how that happens, isn't it?) She too is sad to see Miss Judy close the studio doors. She was not only her first "real" ballet teacher, but the one who encouraged her to believe that she really does have what it takes to be a ballerina. (It's not just mom being nice!)
We will always--always--be grateful for her many years of faithful instruction. For the way she'd hold our tuition check until next payday. For her friendship and prayers.
Abby and I are planning to stop by the studio on its last day. I don't know about her, but I have to feel the floors beneath my feet and smell the rosin one last time...
