She had waited till the other person had left before she took out her earbuds and set them aside. Cori put on a piece of instrumental music with piano and violin and stepped into the middle of the open floor area. It was matted, but not heavily. Enough for protection, but not thick enough that it would hinder her movement.

Talking about dance again recently had struck something deep within her. All this talk about what new things she could do was important, but dance was something that she felt desperate to claim back, if only to find out if and how it could be a part of her life again. The reality was that dance carried baggage for her as much as some of the other major events in her life. It was important to test out more than just some simple barre work for conditioning. It was time to see if she could once again fly.

She straightened the mesh skirt that fell mid-shin and made sure the straps of her low-backed leotard were flat against her skin. Pushing her right toes out and sweeping them to the side, pulled her foot back in so her feet were in third position. Holding her arms out to the sides, she waited till the music hit a note that felt right. Then Cori moved.

What her body felt compelled to do was half ballet, half contemporary. She was physically so much stronger than when she had come to the gym that first time to do barre work. Now she was back to full duty and feeling as good as she ever had, if not better! Her turnout might not be ideal, but she didn’t care. She was dancing for her, letting grace flow through her, but also emotion. There was energy to her movements, intention. She punctuated staccato beats with force.

Little by little, Cori allowed herself to become lost in the music, in the movement. It felt wonderful.

~Corinne Dalton