Despite the thousands performed in a distant past, Pointe demands the dancer's full concentration. The harsh words in Russian echo silently through the space, heard even over the music that plays. But the music she truly hears played long ago, in a studio

..she no longer knows. The body remembers and revels in the movement that wasn't simply learned but embedded in muscle and bone. The pain is a familiar comfort, a right earned. And just for a moment, before the vocal internal critic resurfaces, she remembers with almost overwhelming emotion the freedom that was ballet's gift.

Done