Ballerina 🩰 2016

Felice's Story (from the character's perspective)

"Do you know what it's like to have a dream that seems absolutely impossible? I grew up in a grey orphanage in Brittany. All around me were dreary walls and strict caretakers, but inside me, music was always playing. The moment I closed my eyes, I was already whirling in a dance. Everyone said that a girl without a penny to her name and without connections could never become a ballerina. But I had Victor—my best friend, an eccentric inventor and the most loyal person in the world. For the sake of my dream, we took a desperate step: we escaped the orphanage and rushed to Paris on a night train.

Paris at the end of the 19th century greeted us with lights, noise, and the majestic building of the Grand Opera. To get in, I had to commit a grand deception—I stole an invitation from the haughty Camilla Le Eau and took her name. That's how I ended up in the class of the cruel but brilliant Maestro Merant. Every day he kicked out the worst student, and I had no foundation—I knew neither the positions nor the steps, I just jumped chaotically.

I would have been thrown out on the very first day if it weren't for Odette. She worked as a cleaner at the opera; she limped and seemed very withdrawn. But it turned out that Odette was once a great prima ballerina whose career had been destroyed by a terrible fire. She became my mentor. Odette taught me ballet not through dry drilling, but through life itself. We trained at dawn: I balanced on a rocking barrel, learned to catch drops of water, and jumped as if there were no gravity beneath my feet. She showed me that ballet isn't just technique; it's a passion that comes from the very heart.

After going through rivalry, deception, hard falls, and even a momentary loss of faith in myself, I finally proved what I was capable of. I landed the role of Clara in 'The Nutcracker' and danced on the great stage! Now I know for sure: if there is a fire within you, no one can put it out."

Am I fucking crazy?