The Ballet Whisperer
It is always the little things that make life a thousand times better. Most often in my world, it is the things that people don't see or notice that are most valuable to me and make me smile. Tiffanie is the master of such things - every day I watch Tiffanie quietly at her desk answering emails, managing students, accurate record keeping, accounting, attending to every detail and never making a fuss. She seems to know when I am hanging on by a thread and silently, somehow provides me with a rope. Tiffanie will attend to parents at the desk, teach a class without ever raising her voice and choreographs with ease. Her students all love and respect her and I am in awe of her generosity, wanting the best for every one with quiet suggestions and reminders just at the right time. Then! Tiffanie will sit quietly at her computer and create amazing artwork for our performance posters, programmes and schedules, with detailed spelling, beautiful fonts and interesting reading. Then! files every single thing she does in the perfect place, photographed, colour coded, explained, communicated and like me, Tiffanie takes pride in the little things. Then! Somehow Tiffanie will quietly change into her ballet clothes and magically arrives in her ballet class, constantly working on every technical detail. I often lose my train of thought as I watch her helping younger dancers in class while remembering her own patterns, placements and choreography. Tiffanie always wants every class and every rehearsal to be as good as it can be and then, takes amazing photographs.
For me, every day can be a challenge knowing that every class should be interesting, inspiring and informative and every rehearsal session will require new choreography. Choreography does not always come easily - if I get lost I just watch Tiffanie quietly translating my words into sophisticated movements, enhancing the story and inspiring everyone around her and somehow I find a new creative energy.
You can't see this happening but you will certainly experience every special part of Tiffanie because she quietly resides in every ballet, in every part of our theatre and in every part of our studios.
When I think about teaching Tiffanie as a tiny tot it makes me smile because now I lean on her almost every day and I appreciate every tiny seen and unseen part of her - Tiffanie is the ballet whisperer.
I have travelled the world with Tiffanie several times watching her absorb and appreciate everything around her knowing that we are all lucky to have her in our world - just saying!
It's the little things, very busy and tired in Darwin but Tiffanie still managed to send this photograph to me, remembering my favourite flowers.
