My sister and I were both enrolled in Mrs. Robinnette’s School of Dance and Etiquette for Young Ladies. We were both quite young, from ages 4-7. It was for girls only, for ages 4-11 only. Mrs. Robinnette was a widow who had a dance studio built onto the back of her house. We did some ballet, folk dance, put on mini-musicals, learned how to walk, sit, serve food, sit, converse gracefully. There were four levels of achievement after which the girls received a formal tea party and a diploma. I completed two levels after which time we moved. I recall nothing embarrassing about it except if someone’s brother made fun of his sister at drop off or pick up time. The world was still normal enough that boys usually looked upon anything “girly” with disdain. Our standard clothing was a full leotard with either modern dance, ballet, or tap shoes, and a flared, pleated skirt with matching vest top. Each level wore a different color. Level One was pastel pink leotards and white skirt-vest. Level Two was pastel blue leotards and white, Level Three, white leotards with pastel green, Level Four was white leotards and bright yellow. I mostly enjoyed the classes and twirling around in the skirts to music. Mrs. Robinnette had a St. Bernard dog named Charlie for a pet. He stayed in the living room or outdoors. Despite his large size, he was very friendly. I remember sometimes we would be allowed to pet Charlie and feed him milkbone treats.
Topic: Is Ballet Immoral? (Read 2010 times)