Being a Dad to two would-be ballerinas is tough, as my husband has recently learned. He not only has to wake up early on Saturdays, he also has to start learning the language.
This is an account of some of his experiences (yes, published without his permission but no, he wouldn't dare sue me) which earned a lot of guffaws.
While Ina, our 5-year old, was getting dressed for her ballet class, Ina blurted out, "But Dad, you forgot my tutu!" My poor husband, with his face clearly showing his bewilderment, asked me, "What's a tutu?"
After the girls' first class in their new ballet school, my husband commented that he likes this new school better. And what did he say exactly? "You know Babe, I like this new school more than Katrina Halili's School of Ballet. For one, there are fewer students in a class." You guess it right, I could hardly breathe because I was too busy laughing. Hanggang sa ballet, si Katrina Halili ang naiisip.
Ballet started in France and this is the reason why ballet terms are in French. Since the girls wanted to practice some of the ballet steps they learned, my husband, proud to have remembered a new ballet term, said, "Ok, why don't you show me 'salta'?" "What do you mean," Fran asked him. "Jump," he answered. Uh, uh, that's not salta. That's 'saute'. And I couldn't resist adding that "salta" was used by Dora the Explorer. And no, it's not French.
But what the heck. He may not know the terms. He may not know the correct name of the school. But he's always there to say, "Good job, girls," after every ballet class.
And that is more than good enough for Fran and Ina.
Fran
Ina
