Living Artfully

Although I haven't taken a ballet class in 18 years, those eight years of training as a child is still paying off. By complete happenstance, my parents selected a local ballet company led by a woman -- Marilia Walsh -- who was a former Brazilian prima ballerina trained in Russian classical ballet. She was strict and unyielding. She pushed, and pushed, and pushed, demanding that our bodies move in ways I didn't think it could.

At the time, I dreaded going to ballet classes. I didn't have the "right" figure and was plagued by weak ankles and knees -- both not ideal for ballerinas. When given the choice to pursue tap dancing or ballet in my teens, I jumped at the opportunity to continue taking tap and leave Mrs. Walsh, and the pain, mirrors and merciless barre behind. Little did I know how I would carry those eight years of ballet lessons with me for the rest of my life.

Like this figure sculpted into a fountain in Philadelphia, I have fabulous posture due to Mrs. Walsh's routines and exercises. When I begin to slouch, my body automatically corrects itself as if it remembers Mrs. Walsh's cane banging on the wood floor when our shoulders rolled forward during barre warm-ups. I'm always aware of my balance and body's movement when walking, unless I'm sleep deprived and clumsiness rules the day

My love for dance and classical music, especially George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" can all be traced back to Mrs. Walsh. I was a Sugar Plum Fairy in "The Nutcracker" and a swan in "Swan Lake." She brought the sparkling world of the arts into my soul and I've been enjoying the journey through music, dance, plays and art ever since. My eye for photography composition is rooted in what she taught me as a dancer to understand and appreciate the human body's lines and form.

One day when I am a parent and looking for a dance program for my children, I hope there will be a Mrs. Walsh available to teach them not only how to dance, but how to live artfully and beautifully.