WINGS, WANDS AND BELLA'S HEART

Cebu Center for Dance is where dreams pirouette into reality. It was where Bella fell in love with ballet, the moment she laid eyes on a pair of pink satin pointe shoes (special shoes that allow a dancer to perform on the tips of their toes). She was only 5 years old then.

- By Zaida Marie A. Tambis

With the help of Tita Cathy, she started learning ballet until she was old and good enough to use pointe shoes. Bella had mastered the plié (a bending of the knees) and the arabesque (a position where one leg is extended behind the body while the other supports the dancer). It was when she knew how to do the tricky grand jeté (a large leap where the dancer splits their legs in midair) that she thought she could do anything on stage.

She moved like music come to life. But in her heart, Bella longed to be the best. She wanted to be not just good, not even great, but remarkable. She couldn't get rid of this feeling.

One afternoon, after a long rehearsal for the upcoming performance of Wings and Wands, Bella stayed behind in the studio. She waited for Madame Elara, the academy’s most revered ballet mentor to finish changing.

"You stayed behind, Bella, is everything okay?" Madame Elara asked softly.