Ballet Barre

To the lady on the train that was living in her moment... I'm sorry I laughed, it really wasn't you.

As we were waiting for the train to pull in this morning I noticed a woman standing by the fence, her back to me.

I noticed her because the people walking by were gesturing behind their shoulders in that "did-you-see-that-crazy-person?" kind of a way.

So I noticed her.  And once I did, I couldn't look away.

She was probably in her late 40's and a little weathered.  She was dressed in very normal jeans and a top, tennis shoes, hair in a pony tail.  At first glance there was nothing "crazy-person" about her.

She was just a woman, standing along the fence.

Then she started to dance.  She was doing what I think was a ballet barre routine, though it looked nothing like any ballet barre I had ever done.  She was all elbows and knees, broken lines and sickled feet.  She didn't have ballet barre etiquette either as, when she turned around, she turned away from the barre rather than toward it. (It made my teeth hurt a little when she did that - Mark would have had my head).

Then I saw her face: complete joy and abandon.  She didn't care a hoot that people were "did-you-see-that-crazy-person?" gesturing at her, not one bit.  She was just enjoying her morning barre.

A smile lighting her face, all elbows and knees, she carried on as if she were alone in the studio. She was tendu-ing and frappe-ing along with some inner music that I couldn't hear, which was a little disconcerting as the music in my headphones didn't match at all.

I was enjoying her joy so much that I wanted to be a part of it.  So, I decided to search for the music that she was hearing in her head.  I pulled my iPod out from my pocket and began to fast-forward until I could find the song that matched her rhythm.

It wasn't The Imperial March which was too slow, or Seven Seas of Rhye which was to fast. The Tulsa Turnaround was too funky and Some Kind of Wonderful just wasn't right. On and on I clicked, finding some that were almost right, but nothing that paired her cadence.

Then, just as she looked my way, a song came on that matched her perfectly. I knew within a few notes that this was the song, this was the rhythm I was looking for.

It couldn't possibly have been the song in her head, as it was by no means as ballet barre kind of song, but it was just so perfect.

Bad luck, that's all it was... bad luck that she happened to look me right in the eyes as this song filled my headphones and I burst out laughing. I couldn't help it and I didn't mean to, but the laughter just flew out of me.

She didn't look terribly hurt, she was enjoying herself too much for that, but she did register my laugh thinking it was about her.  And it did upset her a little.

My father taught me that the best defense is a good offense so I walked over to her, still laughing because it was still funny, and I said, "Hi. I'm Katy..." I explained my enjoyment and my quest to find the song to match and she seemed a bit mollified.  When I told her what song actually matched her rhythm, the laughter burst from her as well.

Together we chortled and boarded the train.  Each time our eyes met on the journey we giggled at our shared moment. I felt much better knowing that she understood my laughter and that it wasn't directed at her. Well, not directly at her anyway.

Oh, the song?  It was Sit On My Face by Monty Python.

So, to the lady on the train that was living in her moment... I'm sorry I laughed, but how could I not? That song is hilarious on its own, but when you add a ballet barre filled with elbows and knees first thing in the morning, I didn't stand a chance.  I'm so sorry, it really wasn't you.