She was a ballerina, wound as tight as the corset in her costumes. He was a hockey player determined to make a friend out of someone who didn't want any. She was willing to entertain the idea. But only because he wiggled his way past her defenses to...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Two weeks before Thanksgiving, and nearly a seven weeks after I'd last heard from him, I received a text message from Loren. It was nothing special; just an invitation to a Thanksgiving party he was hosting at his apartment. He didn't require an RSVP, so I left the message unanswered, and focused on rehearsal for Nutcracker, which opened the day after Thanksgiving.
Later in the week, a reporter came from Arts of NYC, here to interview myself, Kelly, Gabriel, who played the Nutcracker/Prince, and Alexei, who played Cavalier, the Sugar Plum Fairy's partner.
Unlike my previous two interviews of the season, Kelly and I were interviewed together while Alexei and Gabriel were prepped for the shoot.
"So Kelly, this is your first season with the company, yes?"
"Well I started in February, so sort of." Kelly tried to put together a coherent answer. "See, the school's different than the company itself, so it's not really my first season, but I guess you could say that." God, she was nervous. That much I could tell.
"She's a spectacular ballerina." I interjected. "Kelly is far beyond her years in skill, especially when you take into account that she didn't begin dancing until a later age."
"Oh?" James, the journalist, asked. "And when did you begin, Kelly?"
The conversation guided into territory Kelly knew well and after several questions, she loosened up and answered them with the ease of a professional.
"And Eleanor," James turned his attention to me, "how do you feel sharing the spotlight with Kelly? This is your first time as principal in The Nutcracker."
"It is." I agreed, annoyed that the question I was always asked was about my first time as principal. How many shows did I have to do for that to change? "But Kelly is a well trained dancer and fun person to be around. While my share of time spent around children is usually limited to my niece and nephew, who now live across the country, I can honestly say I've enjoyed getting to know Kelly and hope to see her in future productions."
"And how do you think your season has gone so far? While you have maintained a principal position, you were removed from a smaller piece called Circumlocution earlier in the season."
Jesus, did he have to bring that up? I'd spent a good deal of time pushing the thoughts about Brandt far into the recesses of my mind. I didn't want to think about him ever again.
"I was." I confirmed like it was some secret and not public knowledge that I was replaced with another ballerina. "Brandt wasn't seeing me as his vision of what he wanted for the role, and I didn't mind stepping down."
"Why is that?" James pressed.
"Difference in artistic expression." I censored the truth. I didn't want to be the person that went over the head of the company and straight to the press about an issue like this.
