Finding a Lost Treasure: Little Ballerina

I recently bought a copy of The Little Ballerina, a long-out-of-print and hard-to-find book. I’m so excited to have this story again. My mother used to read it to me, and I would page through the beautiful pictures on my own.

When I was a young child, I dreamed of becoming a ballerina like Carol, the little girl in the book. She had weak legs because she was recovering from polio. Eventually, Carol went to ballet class and developed into a strong dancer. That’s what I wanted to do, but never had the opportunity growing up in Eastern Kentucky. Even though I didn’t have a life-threatening, debilitating illness, I could relate to her because my doctor described my feet as weak and misshapen.

“Something must be done or she will have many orthopedic problems in her life,” the doctor said.

He suggested exercises and ballet/tap classes. The doctor said I needed to wear orthopedic shoes, and I was upset that I couldn’t wear my black patent leather, buckled shoes anymore.   The doctor instructed me to pick everything up with my toes in order to strengthen them. It became a game with me and my sister when I would hold her captive with my feet.

It wasn’t until I was an adult that my dream came true of becoming a ballerina.  And now I can teach others.  When children come through my class with physical limitations like cerebral palsy or scoliosis, not only can I share the joy of movement, I know that ballet offers therapeutic benefits too.