The Ballerina Princess
was created especially for
Jessica Ann Smith
at the age of 6
With love from
Mommy and Daddy
December 25, 2005
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Springtime was always an especially beautiful time
of year in
Atlanta. Flowers were blooming, the sun was warm
and bright, and
everything just seemed new and fresh! Best of all,
it was time for Jessica's
ballet class to perform their annual ballet, "The
Ballerina Princess." This
year the leading role was going to be performed by
a very famous ballerina!
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Miss White, their
instructor, would soon assign parts to everyone. There
were dancing parts for birds, flowers, insects and
butterflies. Jessica, and
her friends, Amy,
Kristina and
Kelley couldn't wait to see what parts they
were going to play. They had worked very hard
practicing their pirouettes,
pliés and turns for this special performance.
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Jessica's class
warmed up by carefully stretching their legs,
backs and necks so they would stand tall and
straight. They
watched themselves in the mirrors as they
performed their warm up
exercises at the barre, and went through five of
their ballet positions.
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Jessica practiced
very hard every day. She watched all of the
lead ballerina’s movements with special interest.
Jessica secretly
hoped that one day she would be performing as the
lead ballerina.
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Amy watched what
Jessica was doing and teased her
about it.
Amy asked
Jessica, "Why do you practice the
lead ballerina’s part
as well as your own?" "Because next year I hope to
be the Ballerina Princess,"
Jessica answered. "If I practice all year,
next spring I will be ready for the part."
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Miss White asked
everyone to perform a short routine to help her
decide which part to assign to them.
Amy stepped into position.
She twirled across the room as the others watched
and waited their turn.
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Next it was Kelley's
turn. She performed one pirouette after another
without once losing her balance or getting dizzy.
Then Jessica went
through a short routine they had learned in class.
She especially
impressed Miss White
with her graceful arabesque and the way she kept her
toes so perfectly pointed.
Miss White was very proud of all
her students. It was obvious that everyone had
been practicing very
hard at home. "We are going to have a wonderful
spring performance
because all of you dance so well," she told them.
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Then she announced the roles for the dancers as
she showed the
costumes they would be wearing. Everyone already
knew the Ballerina
Princess would be played this year by a former
student who had become a
famous ballerina. Jessica
and Amy would be butterflies.
Kristina would be
a blue bird and another one of the girls would
play the role of a caterpillar. All
the dancers were happy about their parts as they
left for the day.
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That night, all the little dancers called their
families and friends to
invite them to attend the performance.
Jessica called
Grandma and
Grandpa Smith.
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Each afternoon Jessica,
Amy, Kristina
and Kelley joined the other
dancers to rehearse their roles for the upcoming
recital. Everyone
worked hard to learn their parts and Jessica
continued to practice
the part of the Ballerina Princess.
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The weeks went by very quickly. On the day before
the performance,
they gathered for dress rehearsal. The lead
ballerina entered the studio
looking very pale. Suddenly, the lead ballerina
sneezed. She sneezed again
and again. Miss White
stepped over and asked, "What is the problem?"
"I think I am coming down with the flu," said the
lead ballerina. "I'm very
sad because I don’t want to let everyone down and
there is no time for
anyone to learn my part."
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A hush came over the class as
Miss White exclaimed, "What in the
world can we do?" Just then
Kelley shouted, "But Miss White,
Jessica
knows all the moves of the Ballerina Princess. She
has practiced them
every night on her own." All eyes turned to
Jessica.
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"Is that correct, Jessica?"
asked Miss White. "Yes, it is,"
replied Jessica,
a little embarrassed by the attention but happy at
the same time. "I have
practiced every night in hopes that by next year I
would be chosen as the
Ballerina Princess." "Well,
Jessica," said Miss White,
"you now have the
part of the Ballerina Princess!" For the rest of
the day the dress rehearsal
continued with Jessica
in the lead. There was one less butterfly in the
garden, but everyone was happy to spend the extra
time to work on the
changes.
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The big day finally arrived. Jessica's performance
was perfect. The entire
crowd full of family and friends gave a standing
ovation to the dancers.
Jessica,
Amy, Kristina,
Kelley and the other girls in the
dance curtsied as
flowers were brought onto the stage. Jessica was
the heroine of the
night and the star performer in the ballet. All of
her hard work and
practice had paid off! What an unforgettable day
this was . . . the day
Jessica became The
Ballerina Princess.
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Some Ballet Steps
1. Battement tendu (baht-mohn-than-du) One foot
slides out from the closed position, with toes never leaving the
floor, until the toes point.
2. Plié (plee-ay) A bending movement of the knees.
3. Arabesque penchée (ah-ra-besk phan-shay) Dancer
stands on one leg, lifting the other straight up behind.
4. Pirouette (peer-un-wet) Dancer spins around on
one leg.
5. Pas de chant (pah-duh-shah) Small jumps close
to the ground carrying the dancer from one spot to another.
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