the-art-of-ballet:

Pierre-Arthur Raveau in “Marco Spada”

New “Premier Danseur” of the Paris Opera Ballet

As Pierre-Arthur struck a pose in front of an audience full of people, he remembered what his first ballet teacher taught him while rapping at his feet with a meterstick, “You will be dancing for the glory of France. Any failure to be less than perfect will be seen as mutiny to her legacy of the arts! Point those toes, point!” Marco would not be anything less than excellent beyond excellence. He could not and would not.

(Post is fictional.)