Legacy

“ You are going to be attending the audition and that’s the end of it. I don’t want to hear another word about it...you are a Leole. A Leole!”

Her grandmother’s voice reached that high, shrieky tone that always made her erupt in goosebumps, something only her grandmother and her mother could do to her. Even the high pitched nasal voices of her stereotypical engineer classmates couldn’t irritate her the way her family members could.That’s all her life was lately...either avoiding arrogant young male engineers with the personalities of wet paper or avoiding her family members that seemed to make it their life mission to always be on her case.

Rachel’s continued silence seemed to satisfy the older woman as she continued on in a much calmer tone. 

“ I will see you at rehearsals this afternoon...and don’t even try to get out of it. Dedication. Discipline. Determination. That is how you achieve your dreams. This is how you proudly allow the Leole name to live on. Your Mother, while short lived, had an exceptionally proficient career in the Australian Ballet...and she is an excellent teacher and coach there now. She is such an incredible dancer and professional that they simply changed her role there when her injuries became too much. It is now your turn to carry on the Leole Legacy Rachel. I will see you at class this evening and I want to see proof that you have been practicing your ‘develope’ and ‘arabesques’.

Her rigid spined grandmother left the dining room, a trail of expensive perfume lingering in the air behind her. Despite the fact that she rarely left their residence, the older lady was always dressed like she was off to meet the Queen. Rather she was the owner of Leole’s Academy of the Elegant Arts’ that currently operated out of their former garage, otherwise known as a dance studio. Her family's legacy was known internationally in the Dance world, specifically the worlds of contemporary and classical ballet. 

For over 10 generations at least one member of her family at any one time had been a lead dancer in not only the Australian Ballet but in whatever ballet was the leading constitution in the country they resided in. In 2021 it fell on 21 year old Rachel’s shoulders to carry on that tradition. Never mind the fact that she studied a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering full time and a Bachelor of Science. Despite the fact that she was over 18 she didn’t seem to have the strength to stand up to either her Mother or Grandmother regarding dance. She had been raised on dance, her very first memories being her young chubby toddler legs running around their dance studio as she visited her Mum in between classes. 

Fast forward throughout the years her natural intellectual ability and interest in STEM always seemed to clash with her intense dance schedule. Even now, the combination of full time university studying theory dense subjects and with an average of 4 hours of practice daily both Rachel’s brain and body were continually exhausted, she didn’t even want to attend practice.

As hard as it was for her to admit, she didn’t have the passion for dance that seemed to run in her family. She had heard of some traits skipping generations...like eye colour or thin skin. Was it possible for a love and passion of dance to skip a generation? She knew she was a talented dancer, she was her mother’s daughter afterall and the great ‘Natalia’s’ grandchild. However, she couldn’t help but wonder...especially recently whether her talents in dance were simply because of pure hardwork and dedication. She had after all, learnt to dance before she could even read or write. A majority of her childhood was spent in and out of dance studios...not much had changed except now it was either the studio, her bed or university.

Dance,sleep or study...that was her entire life. The first few notes of Vivaldi’s Spring drifting through the air had Rachel snapping herself out of her thoughts and back to the present. She needed to go stretch and grab something to eat before rehearsals that afternoon...she was scared of what would become of her if she missed it, despite looking like a sweet old lady Natalia Leola was anything but. She was a stickler for proper etiquette, especially when it came to the individual who was meant to carry on her family's dance legacy.

As the countdown towards her audition for the Australian ballet trainee program ticked closer her training seemed to hold a lot more meaning. She couldn’t tell whether the pressure came from within her or her grandmother’s influence...perhaps a mixture of both. Even her Mother wasn’t on her case about dance like Natalia was. Of course, her Mother despite her weak ankles was still busy being a professional dancer with her teaching roles at both the Australian Ballet and their own company. She was probably a little preoccupied to worry about her nerdy daughter and her reluctance to dance. She was definitely a little preoccupied to worry about anything that wasn’t the art of ballet.

The buzzing of her phone had Rachel quickly scrolling through the numerous notifications; uni emails, random alerts...oh and a new asignment. Great. As her Google calendar automatically updated she couldn’t help but let out a soft sigh. Her next fortnight bordered on ridiculous, she barely had time to breathe or eat as it was let alone with the new assignments and extra practice in preparation for the upcoming audition.

Trying to ignore the irritating ache in her fatigued muscles Rachel swiftly packed away her pointe shoes and bandages, quickly throwing on a loose pair of sweats over her leotard. She didn’t have time to change, she needed to get to her computer within the next 20minutes if she was going to make her online tutorial. As the other dancers chattered animately around her Rachel headed towards the back door only to be stopped by a voice that seemed to never be far away.

“ Rachel. Where are you hurrying off to? Stay and socialise. Remember, dance is about relationships...about trust. We move together, we create art together. How do you expect to achieve this if you hurry off after training?”

Pausing, Rachel inhaled deeply, counting down from 3 in her head before she turned around and faced the music.

“ I know, I understand. However I have a tutorial in less than 20minutes that I need to be at so I don’t fall behind. I hope you understand...Nana.”

Smiling sweetly to keep up appearances in front of her fellow dancers Rachel left the studio and hurried up to the house. Whilst that may have appeared friendly her grandmother hated being referred to as ‘Nana’ or ‘ grandmother’. In fact, she hated anything that wasn’t madam or Natalia. She knew she would pay for it later that night but for the moment it was worth it. As she flicked her computer on and settled back into her desk chair she gazed up at the posters adoring her bedroom walls.

The NASA poster drew her eye as she waited for her computer to boot up. She had gotten the poster from an information session she had attended during orientation week for Women in STEM. The opportunities that awaited her...the cosmos was her oyster yet here she was on a friday night sitting in her leotard waiting to connect to an online tutorial instead of joining her classmates on campus. Just another price to pay in the life of being a ‘professional athlete’. 

As she watched her classmates use the telescope the university had newly purchased something clicked within her...an answer to a question she hadn’t verbalised yet but that had been dwelling within her for quite awhile. She chose Science over Dance and would everytime. 

“ Sorry Mum, sorry Natalia...but this family has a new legacy now.”