It’s The big day!

Nadia checked her tutu one last time.

Perfect! She looked at her corresponding partner, 

Ditto! Her replica! 

She closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath! 

Almost a year of grueling training and a strict diet played out in her mind. She remembered how Simone, her Ballet Mistress, told them that she would allow 8 of her students to perform at the American Ballet Theatre.

Simone had choreographed a ballet inspired by The Swan Lake.

A lake was to be digitally projected on the stage, and 8 lucky budding ballerinas, Nadia one of them, were to perform as swans in that lake.

They were almost two months into barre and centre practice when one morning, we walked in for our practice and saw a whiteboard with THIS drawn on it!

You gotta be kidding me! Nadia thought! Simone’s gonna teach Math?????? 

Simone had a mysterious smile in her eyes…….”This is our plan, my pretty swans!” 

You all have to look natural, so your Adagio and Allegro will look random but at the same time choreographed!"

We must have looked lost, so, she explained…..

“Imagine, the two lines, MP and QS, are digital rivers. Imagine a line LT cuts the river at two points, O and R. 

Now, four of you will be at point O, and the other four at point R.

The four swans at point O will perform different moves from each other, and so will the swans at point R. But look carefully; do you see I have the same colors put correspondingly? So, each of you has a corresponding partner making identical moves.”

Now all practice was in corresponding pairs. When we watched our practice video, we were filled with wonder at how we all were different yet in perfect synchrony!

For once, Nadia sent out a prayer of thanks to her Math teacher!

The bell from the stage broke into Nadia’s reverie. Nadia and her corresponding partner pirouetted together on the stage to wow the balletomane!