Pas de Deux A novel by Bronwen Welsh A Sequel to 'Antonette's Story' Copyright 2021

Chapter 12   Giselle

Months went by and we were performing in several ballets. We often called at Kate and Ben's flat to see them and their baby who was putting on weight and looking more gorgeous than ever. Her christening had been arranged at St Michaels, the local Anglican church and as promised, Jack and I were to be her godparents. It was held on a Sunday afternoon when Baby Kate was three months old, and besides ourselves, Jack and Ben's parents and my parents were there plus some of Kate and Ben's special friends. We all dressed up for the occasion, me in a pretty new summer dress with a flared skirt, and my usual stockings and heels. Jack looked dashing in his grey suit. We didn't upstage Baby Kate's parents who were equally well dressed.

I confess that we are not regular churchgoers, so the vicar, the Reverend Peter Cole, a very nice young chap, had taken us through a rehearsal of what we had to do, and also impressed upon us the importance of the promises that we would make on behalf of our goddaughter. We both said that we took them seriously and would do our best to carry them out. We even went to church for a few Sunday mornings, although I confess we gradually fell away from regular attendance. Sunday was our only day off when we were performing and we took the opportunity to sleep in after the Saturday evening performance. I think that Reverend Cole understood.

After the christening service, where Baby Kate behaved very well and didn't cry when the water, which had been warmed, was poured on her head, we retired to a local cafe for afternoon tea and a chat. We took a number of photos to send to Kate's parents and brother Gary in Australia, and it was a very happy day. Kate was enjoying her maternity leave from the hospital, and turned out to be a perfect mother. Ben was a very good father and did all he could to help, and everything seemed to be going very well.

Six months passed, and the next ballet production coming up was 'Giselle', and much to my surprise, I had been awarded the much coveted title rôle with Dame Monique choosing to play the Queen of the Wilis. This really made no sense to me until one day during a rehearsal break, Dame Monique asked if I would join her for a cup of coffee in the café.

“I think you are wondering why I recommended you for the part of Giselle and settled for a lesser rôle myself. I will explain to you the reason. As you know, I have been Prima Ballerina of the company for some years and hope to remain so for another few, but the time comes in any dancer's life when they realise that their solo career is coming to an end. There are some, like Dame Margot who go on until they are well past their best, trading on their fame to bring in the audiences, but I don't see it that way. I have been discussing with company executives who would be suitable to replace me when my career finishes and the general consensus is that you are likely to be my successor.”

I confess that at this point my face was bright red, not because I had designs on the top tier of dancers, but because what Dame Monique was saying was so unexpected.

“However, before a final decision is made, you must be given a chance to prove yourself, and that can't happen if I continue to perform all the major rôles, hence the decision to give you 'Giselle'. We wouldn't have done this unless we thought you were up to the task. So now you understand why you are playing the part. By the way, as you know, the ballet is my life. I never married, and even when I cease performing as a soloist, I hope to continue on in character parts, so I should be around for a long time yet.”

'And keeping an eye on me,' I thought, but out loud I said “Thank you for explaining that Dame Monique. I will do my very best to justify your confidence in me.”

She smiled and patted my hand. It seemed the interview was over,

Giselle is a ballet of love and betrayal, life and death. In short the story is as follows:
Giselle is a village maiden who loves to dance but has a weak heart. Her beauty enchants the philandering Count Albrecht, who, on the day of the village wine festival, disguises himself as a peasant in order to win her heart.. Giselle rejects him at first but finally succumbs to his pledge of eternal love.. Hilarion, a gamekeeper who loves Giselle discovers Albrecht's true identity and reveals it. Giselle loses her reason and she collapses and dies.

In the second act, Giselle has become a wili, who are ghostly apparitions of girls who were betrayed by faithless lovers on the eve of their weddings. Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis discovers Hilarion mourning at Giselle's grave. She summons the other spirits and they force Hilarion to dance until he dies of exhaustion. Albrecht, now full of remorse also comes to Giselle's grave and Myrtha commands her to come forth and dance all night with him until he too dies. But Giselle still loves him despite his betrayal of her and .keeps him alive until dawn, when the wilis lose their power. Then she disappears back into her grave, leaving Albrecht alone to grieve over it.

The choreography is based on that of the famous Marius Petipa, and the music is by Adolphe Adam. Although Adam was a prolific composer, Giselle is probably his most famous work. Jack was to play Albrecht, and Alfredo the part of Hilarion, Playing Giselle was going to be a highlight of my career, and dancing with Jack playing Albrecht was a great bonus as we spent so much time dancing together.

The Opening Night was a great success, and the reviews were very flattering. I was on Cloud Nine. Ticket sales were great, Jack and I were thrilled to be dancing together and we couldn't have been happier. More important to me than the reviews, was Dame Monique's assessment of my performance, saying that she could not have done it better herself. That seemed to bode well for my advancement to Prima Ballerina, although it was a position that I had never aspired to. In any case, it wasn't going to happen immediately, since, as Dame Monique had said herself, she expected to continue in the position for a few years yet.

To be continued