The life of a prima ballerina is no fairy tale. Natalia works hard on her come-back after a two year break following a severe accident. Not only has she had to come to terms with that, but also with the fact that her loving partner betrays her with a competitor, devious Dmitri. Love, jealousy and pain are all in the game for these artists. A book for true ballet aficionados - and those curious to learn more about this world.
Before, much of the reward of dancing had lain with satisfying and honoring my teachers, especially Vera Igorevna. Stripped of the others, however, I now had to go deeper for fulfillment, to a mysterious place where music and movement met and blended, like an under-water lake at the bottom of the ocean. It was peaceful, beautiful, and terrifying all at once. And this was especially true of La Bayadere with its divine score. Every time I rehearsed, I fell into this secret space until the boundaries containing me dissolved. I wanted to disappear between music and dance. Dancing well was, in a lot of ways, besides the point.
