The exposition of this story begins with the narrator, Val Rigodon, sharing that she recently discovered that someone from her childhood passed away. She felt uneasy about this and made her think that anything could happen to anyone at any moment. Rigodon is a 25-year-old African American woman. After watching the movie Leap about a beautiful ballerina, this got her thinking about her young childhood dream of doing ballet.
The beginning of her rising action starts when she enrolls in a beginner ballet class. Her biggest conflict was how far could she really go with this hobby considering that most ballerinas start at 7-10 years old? She initially felt out of place, but still did the exercises and dances to the best of her ability. Rigodon admitted that she had no idea what she was doing or what the ballet terms meant, and everyone around her appeared beautiful and graceful. At the end of her first beginner ballet class, she doubted whether or not ballet was something she should keep pursuing as a hobby.
The climax occurs when Rigodon decides to attend a second class. She also sought for inspiration on ballerinas who also started late, specifically Misty Copeland – a professional African American ballerina who started “late” (13 years old).
The falling action of this narrative is that Rigodon chooses to continue with ballet. She admits that her 25-year-old body makes it difficult for her to perform the moves, but she can see herself making progress. She now knows what the ballet terms are and is improving her flexibility.
The narrator knows that she has many more years to go before she can confidently show off her ballet skills. Months after her very first class, she is now taking 3 classes a week, demonstrating the resolution of her narrative.
Rigodon’s opening story about her childhood friend passing away could have played an influence in her “carpe diem” narrative. Overall, I think the theme revolves around seizing the present as an opportunity to chase after your desires because the future is not guaranteed.
Mini-reflection:
I chose this Moth story to read because I also did ballerina as a young child and into high school. I definitely respect everything that Rigodon claims about ballet being a very difficult form of dance that requires several years of professional training. I personally stopped ballet when I was 17 because I did not see myself doing anything professional with the dance. However, I admire Rigodon’s perseverance to take on ballet as a hobby and improving her craft. I could see myself taking classes as an adult, too.
The title of her story is ironic. The original ballet term is “pas de deux,” which is a dance between two partners. Rigodon humorously changes it to “pas de une,” insinuating that it is just her in this battle to learn ballet.
Michelle Galat's UWP101 blog 