Urban Ballet

Many of you already know about my daughter's learning disabilities. Not only is she behind in reading, but she has a marked speech delay. Quite often, she has found herself on the receiving end of odd looks and scathing comments, and not all of them have been from other children. Adults have frequently made unthoughtful remarks. There is one place where my daughter doesn't feel the scorn, though and that's when she's dancing. By far, her favorite class is ballet. When I asked her why she replied, "Because when I dance ballet I feel like a princess." You know what? She's looks like one, too. For those brief moments when she's on stage, she's not the girl who can't read chapter books. The one who's shorter than all her classmates. Or the child who can't talk clearly. Instead she's free.