From Russia With Love

The following morning Dominika stood on the large stone porch at the front of the Way house, watching as her breath turned to fog every time she exhaled in the morning air. The sun was already fully risen in the sky, brushing the tree tops with soft light. She turned to face the it’s rays and closed her eyes, basking in the warmth on her face. The weather was much colder at this time of year in Russia, in fact she imagined it would only be a few weeks before snow was on the ground at home. She thought of Gerard, out in the snow-covered fields of her homeland, and shivered involuntarily.

It was only another few minutes of waiting before a shiny dark car with bulbous fenders turned onto the long driveway. It looked odd from a distance, but as it got closer Dominika realized it was a vintage car from the mid-century. John jumped out of the driver’s seat and crossed to the other side of the car, opening the passenger door.

“Morning!” he called, way too enthusiastic for how early it was “jump in”

She slid into the seat, inhaling the rich scent of the aged leather as she placed her little backpack on the floor. It held all of her meagre dancing possessions including her new pair of ballet slippers and a packed lunch Konstantin had pushed into her hands as she left the house that morning. She smiled to herself as John got into the seat beside her and closed the door, realizing she now had a strange kind of substitute American family consisting of the Ways, Johnathon and the eccentric Russian chef.

“What’s with the car?” Dominika asked.

“It’s a 1967 Bentley. I restore old cars in my downtime, this was a top-of-the-line luxury car in its day”

“It’s lovely” she replied, stroking the leather dash appreciatively.

“How was your first day in the States?” John asked as he put the car into the drive and pulled away from the curb. The radio chattered away quietly in the background, some breakfast talk show, and warm air blew softly from the air vents, heating the cabin.

“It was great. Donna took me out to the city to pick up a few things and we had lunch at a nice restaurant”

“Good. A bit more temperate here than back home, eh?”

“Of course. It will be snowing there in a few weeks, poor Gerard” she sighed.

“Donna told me about his promotion, bet you’re pretty proud of him, huh? I always knew that kid would achieve great things”

“I’m very proud of him, yes” Dominika said, staring out the windshield at the road in front of them without blinking “But I also hate war, and the thought of him or his brother or any of the other soldiers being caught up in all that is confronting”

“I think the best way of looking at these things is to consider it a necessary evil. Yes, it is terrible, but they can’t not take action, and at least they have been expertly trained by the very best. I’ve seen the brotherhood between your soldiers and ours and they are unstoppable together, Dominika, it’s an amazing thing to witness first hand”

She was quiet then, weighing his words carefully. She decided for once, to allow herself to relax and be reassured, after all, why would everyone lie to her? It wouldn’t have achieved anything.

“Thank you” Dominika said quietly “that’s what I needed to hear”

“Chin up, young lady, tell me what you’re doing today instead of all this negative talk”

She glanced at him appreciatively, grateful for the subject change.

“Well I don’t really know…” she began “as far as I’m aware it’s just an audition to get into the Washington State Ballet Company, I’ve never auditioned for a company before”

“What were you doing at home, then?”

“I had private tutors for all my studies. I learned everything at home, but from some of the best teachers Russia has to offer”

“Just dance, though?” John asked, surprised.

“Of course not” she retorted “Russian history, American history, English, math, science, I studied all of them and more. I was hoping to dance for a very highly regarded company in Moscow when I finished my dance training at the end of this year”

Dominika was getting worked up and she didn’t know why. Heat flushed her face momentarily as she took a deep breath. John’s eyes flicked over towards her and back to the road quickly.
The rest of the car ride was silent with only the quiet murmur of the car radio in the background as they continued along the way. They were headed towards the city again, the wind rustling through the trees lining the streets as they entered the municipal. The streets were quiet and sleepy in the early morning air, barely a person passed them.

“Here we are” John announced as he drove the car into the lot of an expansive red brick building in a similar style to the Way house. Wide windows were visible all the way around the exterior but were blacked out almost completely by dark curtains. She looked up at the building in awe.

“I’ll walk you in” he said.

They left the car parked in the lot as they walked up to the building, Dominika beginning to realize just how nervous she felt. Her knees shook and felt like they were about to give way as they walked up the marbled steps to the building’s entrance, a large signboard displaying show information above the colossal set of doors. Dominika fantasized silently of one day having her name up there, too.

The reception of the building was even more grand than the outside, with ceilings as tall as the height of the structure and completely glassed, washing the entire area in bright light that made it look elegant and beautiful. A glossy reception desk ran the entire length of the furthest wall which was plastered in ornately framed photographs of dancers in their slippers and tutus. As she followed John up to the reception, a tall, skinny blonde woman with a perfectly tailored skirt and blazer combination popped up from behind the desk.

“Welcome to the Washington State Ballet Company” she greeted warmly “how may I help you?”

“This is Princess Dominika Luhzkov” John replied, gesturing towards her “she’s here for her audition, sorry we’re a little early. Light traffic”

“Oh, Princess! We’ve been expecting you, please, come with me”

John handed Dominika her bag and said he would be waiting for her in the car in the lot. She nodded and took it, following the kindly woman through to a waiting area with two pink leather couches and a matching shag pile carpet. A television on the far wall played clips of various productions the company had previously presented. American gossip magazines were spread artistically on the white coffee table in front of her and she looked over the titles before taking a seat in front of it.

“I’ll just let Mr. Rush know you’re here, make yourself at home”

Dominika had never met Donna’s brother before and she was interested to see what he was like, if he resembled Donna at all. She was also nervous, what if her style wasn’t what they were looking for? She had heard from her teachers how different the art form was between countries and she was scared that her dancing would be too unalike what they were used to. Her usual confidence that seemed to accompany her everywhere seemed to have abandoned her today.

She flicked through one of the magazines absently, barely seeing the words in front of her as she tried to focus her mind on the task ahead. All she needed to do was show them the best of what she could do and then she had given herself the greatest chance possible of being accepted. That’s all she could ask of herself, and if she did that, she would be happy.

“Princess?” a voice called, interrupting her thoughts suddenly. She looked up to see a man with sandy blonde hair and brown eyes standing a few feet away, smiling down at her.

“Yes” she replied “hello, pleased to meet you”

Dominika got to her feet and shook the man’s rough hand, returning his smile.

“Donna has told me all about you, I’m expecting great things” he said, face suddenly turning serious.

Dominika blushed furiously and stared at her feet, shuffling back and forth.

“I’m a little rusty” she muttered “it’s been a while since I’ve preformed a routine for anyone”

“I’m only joking” he laughed “relax, we’d just like to see what you can do so we can place you in the right class”

She followed him into a windowless room painted in all black with dark carpet and a raised stage that dominated the space. Bright spotlights focused on the stage and illuminated it in blinding yellow-tinted light that lit up every shadow. Another man and woman sat at a folding table in front of the stage and turned to look at them as they entered.

“Here’s our lady of the hour” Mr. Rush announced loudly, motioning grandly at Dominika.

“Princess, this is Helen Langmead and Alexander Rubenstein, two of our finest teachers”

Dominika smiled at them shyly, adding a little wave as she spoke softly.

“You can just call me Dominika, its fine”

“Okay Dominika, why don’t you go backstage through that door there and get changed and warmed up, we’ll be ready when you are” he said, pointing to a small door in the wall at the side of the stage. She gathered her things and walked across the room, feeling the eyes of the teachers following her as she entered the area.

This room was also painted solidly in black, one wall lined with a long row of mirrors highlighted with white down lights she assumed were used as dressing tables, and on the opposite wall a long ballet bar used for stretching and warming up. She changed into her dance clothes quickly, feeling self-conscious in the wide open space. When dressed, she examined herself in the mirror, coiling her long hair quickly into a bun and securing it with the elastic she wore around her wrist.

She approached the ballet bar and began to do the warm-up routine her ballet teacher had ingrained in her since she was a child, stretching every muscle in her arms, back and legs. She mentally prepped herself, giving herself the same personal pep talk she did every time she was faced with an important situation.

“Are you ready Miss Dominika?” a female voice called from behind the door. She opened it and was face to face with the instructor Mr. Rush had called Helen. She smiled at Dominika sweetly.

“All good to go? Just go up the stairs on the right there and you’ll be on the stage, we’ve got some music queued for you, just classics you’re probably already used to, is that okay?”

Dominika nodded but she barely heard a word the woman said, instead her head felt like it was full of cotton wool, and she was hyper-focused on the task ahead of her. Whenever she had an important task to face that required all of her concentration she developed tunnel vision, and all she could focus on was what she needed to do.

She climbed the stairs silently and took her place at the edge of the stage wing, just behind the royal purple curtain where she wasn’t visible to her spectators. The opening bars of Beethoven’s Overture ‘Die Geschöpfe des Prometheus’ played softly and she upstretched her arms over her head, raising onto the points of her shoes and tiptoeing en pointe to the center of the stage. The song picked up and she threw herself into a familiar routine that showcased every difficult move she was capable of. Her limbs moved in a beautiful extension of her body, fluid, liquid movements that matched up together seamlessly. She transitioned from one action to another without hesitation, timing herself to the music.

As the last bars of the song drew to a close she pirouetted gracefully and ended with her right leg high above her head, arms against the floor.

The silence was painful as the seconds ticked by.

One….two….three…

And the panel erupted into applause.

Notes