She Turns Ducklings Into Swans

The somewhat frightened little girl peers about the dance studio. So much is new and different. So much needs to be explained. So much hinges on the little girl’s trust and faith in her important new friend- the dance teacher.

But slowly, haltingly, her faith grows. The little girl learns; learns to master her arms, her legs, her toes, her hands. Then in a sudden burst of soaring pride, she feels that delicious mastery of her whole body. She dances.

For a brief instant, the duckling has become a swan.

Perhaps someday in her years of womanhood, these first graceless moments, the awkward errors, the dance teacher’s firm and encouraging words, the whole magic mood of unspoiled youth will be recalled and this once frightened little girl will look back and gently smile.

For the dance teacher whose dreams of spawning the next Nijinsky or Pavlova shall remain but pure sweet dream, that gentle smile may be the only rewarding reality. A reality of helping to mold graceful, poised human beings; of turning ducklings into swans, and bringing to their lives, for a little while at least, a world of enchantment, of discovery, of beauty.