Natasha (formally Natalia) has just arrived in her home city in Russia after years in Paris, and it is overwhelming. She is not certain she will be able to face any of it – her scheduled return to the ballet stage after her injury, her old teachers, her old friends, the city itself. She is finding there to be just too many painful memories, too many scars from her past, far deeper than her physical ones. Can she overcome her heartbreak to return to the stage? Will it be worth it?
This is the dramatic saga of a ballet dancer who starts with nothing and works literally to the bone to rise to the very top. She ignores the competition and the backstabbing from her fellow students as well as the ruthlessness of the teachers and is laser-focused only on achieving perfection. Even friends and family must be kept secondary to her goal, or so she perceives. What she finds once she rises to the top, however, is that it becomes quite lonely there. When you’re on top, there is not much company there. It’s hard to fit others in there with you…
Has dancing filled in a void for her that she could not fill otherwise? Or did she create a void with her dancing, as a defense against having to cope with others? Natasha has loved, but it’s been complicated and tangled into her insular world. She is now facing that question as she forces herself to heal, both inside and out.
The most beautiful character here, in my opinion, is Natasha’s friend, Nina. While Natasha often takes her for granted, Nina is the most steadfast, the most grounded of all the characters in the story. While she also is incredibly talented, driven and successful, she also manages to have a relationship with another dancer, to marry and to have a family even while continuing to dance. When she is treated poorly by Natasha, she calls her out for it. In fact, there are years during which they do not speak. But Nina is forgiving, and ultimately, she is there for her friend, showing up when she knows she is needed the most.
This narrative is a fascinating peek into an artist’s mind as well as into the world of dance. It is also a story about love, friendship and forgiveness.
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