“Claudine lying in the sun with her towel” by Beatrice Brandini

Claudine was a French girl, full of charm, she loved ballet and was enthusiastic about life.

Sometimes she would lie in the sun, in her garden, in a beautiful isolated house on the hill, without anyone seeing her and there, with a colorful striped towel, she would relax reading a book, after dancing all day.

“Claudine” by Beatrice Brandini

One morning she fell asleep under the soft sun of a sweet spring day, she had a beautiful dream, freeing her from all her fears and uncertainties.

She thought she was the first ballerina of the Paris Opera, the protagonist of a ballet inspired and created by herself. The story was that of a girl born with a leg problem. This little girl did not walk well, her gait was uncertain, constantly in danger of falling. But Claudine, this was the name of her little one, was born with the gift of interpreting music with her body.

Her parents consulted countless specialists and all diagnosed her with a malformation of the joints that most likely would have destined her to a life in a wheelchair.

“Orthopedist visiting Claudine” by Beatrice Brandini

However, her father, who loved her and knew her best of all, did not surrender to her dramatic diagnosis. He then noticed that when he was in her arms every time she heard her music, she moved her thin legs in time, so much so that she forgot those problems that seemed unsolvable. He decided to spend his money on a good gym instructor to strengthen her muscles and shaky movements. Maybe nothing would have changed, but that path was worth trying too.

“Gym Instructor” by Beatrice Brandini

So Claudine spent many hours a day doing demanding exercises, sometimes very painful and exhausting, but also the instructor, just like her father, had the hope that it would improve. In fact, he noticed that, day after day, the music-loving child, shyly, made movements, comparable to small miracles. Each time he saw progress and convinced himself more than ever that Claudine could make it.

The instructor also noticed that the girl had a musical ear, she transformed the notes into creative movements; so he decided to consult a friend of him, a ballet teacher in a small school, and, after talking to Claudine, he convinced her to enroll.

“Claudine and her first dance steps” by Beatrice Brandini

Claudine was enthusiastic about it and, even if she was not yet fully aware of it, dance was her life, when she danced, or tried to do it, she was happy, she finally felt good, forgetting the fatigue and the suffering.

The days thus passed with exercises at the barre, small vaulting, timid pirouettes.

A few years passed, Claudine and her family realized that the “defect” was nothing more than a delay in bone development and her hypersensitivity an emotional obstacle to becoming physical.

It didn’t take long for her to become a good dancer. Her dance teacher was happy with the progress, she was becoming very good; her passion, her vocation, combined with an iron will and an innate class, did the rest of her.

He therefore decided to take her to a large dance school in Paris, directly connected with the Opéra. The entrance was limited and she had to prove that she was up to it before being able to attend it. She auditioned but her performance was characterized by many errors, her exclusion was certain, when a lady from the commission saw something special in her. She thought that in her school she could improve and that perhaps her uncertainties were the result of her shyness. She asked her to repeat the rehearsal without music and with a black blindfold over her eyes, probably in this state of isolation she would have forgotten the rest of her, concentrating only on the dance. While the other members of the commission were incredulous and very skeptical, she Claudine transported herself to her enchanted world full of music, in her mind she hummed an old song that always used her instructor of hers, and that was how she danced enchantingly. A perfect and sincere performance, the lady of the commission was close to being moved, also knowing her story about her. The other members were also speechless, she was thus admitted to that prestigious school, and, after a few years, she became the best, the prima ballerina of the Paris Opera.

“Paris Opera” by Beatrice Brandini

She wrote a ballet that she would bring to the theater, she called it “Le Rêve” (“The Dream”) and was obviously autobiographical. Claudine was now 20 years old and that ballet consecrated her, not only among the spectators, but also among her critics. A great success that had healed every wound of her sad childhood.

Suddenly, a loud noise in the distance woke her up suddenly and Claudine understood that that dream was reality, her story. She was really the prima ballerina of the Paris Opera, and everything else had happened too. She entered the house and saw her parents increasingly proud of their daughter and her instructor (the same strongly desired by her father), with whom she continued to do the exercises since she was a child.

Claudine was very happy and was already thinking of a new ballet, she would have titled it “Réalité” (Reality) because after her dreams there had been her successes.

“Claudine on stage” by Beatrice Brandini

Her life had given her what she dreamed of, thanks to her commitment, her talent and above all the desire to never give up. She understood that after her dream there is always a reality, and for her, finally, this had become beautiful.

Good life to everyone!

Beatrice