Kindness brings Kindness

Since she was enrolled in her first dance class, Estelle knew she wanted to be a professional dancer. Much to her dismay, however, she was constantly tormented by classmates, and even a few teachers, calling her a “little ballerina” and mockingly twirling around. Even the word “twirling” infuriated Estelle beyond belief-- dancers turn, they do not twirl. Growing up in New York City, Estelle knew that she was in the best place to pursue her dreams, and she needed to ignore those who did not believe in her. Estelle went from preschool through high school dealing with constant ballerina jokes and trying her best to stay optimistic about her dream career. Finally, when she was a senior in high school, in order to focus on her dancing career and escape the constant torment, Estelle transferred from public high school to the Misty Copeland School of Performing Arts. Once there, Estelle quickly became friends with a girl her age named Gemina. Gemina was the daughter of a world-renowned prima ballerina at the American Ballet Theater. She was Estelle’s only friend as the other students quickly became jealous of Estelle’s talents and made it very clear that they did not like her.

Within weeks, Estelle told Gemina all her secrets and her aspirations. She admitted she felt like she should just give up trying to defend her dream because of the constant ridicule. Unbeknownst to her, Gemina was a private dance student of Mr. Ubel, the school’s owner. Everyday after their ballet classes together, Gemina would tell Mr. Ubel all of Estelle's fears and secrets. Gemina constantly pretended to support Estelle, and she claimed she wanted to study law to keep up the facade. In reality, Gemina knew that Estelle wanted to apply to Juilliard and would have no problem getting in-- she spent four hours every day practicing outside of class and never missed a day or suffered an injury. Gemina actually wanted to go to Juilliard too, but knew that if she and Estelle auditioned together, Estelle would make her look as if she hadn’t taken a ballet class in her life.

To keep up the facade that she wanted to study law, Gemina constantly read pre-law materials while watching Estelle practice for hours-- and she actually learned some things-- like if she injured Estelle so that she wasn’t in any condition to audition at Juilliard, she would be sued by the school and wouldn't be able to afford to attend herself. She decided that if she could get Mr. Ubel on her side, he could drag Estelle down just long enough for Gemina to surpass Estelle’s talents.

Because she was the daughter of a prima ballerina at the American Ballet Theater, Gemina was born with such natural talent that for years she slacked and didn’t attempt to improve, as she was far beyond those her age. Then, suddenly, Estelle transferred to the Performing Arts School. Gemina observed that Estelle was pretty good for her age, but she didn’t think Estelle was as good as her, so she befriended her. Gemina believed that dancing with her would make her look better, but would not be as embarrassing to dance with as her past duet partner.

In late September, the performing arts school held auditions for their annual production of The Nutcracker. In the weeks leading up to auditions, Gemina had missed several her private lessons with Mr. Ubel and started skipping her regular classes to go to after parties with her mother, claiming that she had to stay home because she was “sick.” Gemina was eager to be invited to these prestigious parties because she tried to find an “in” for the company.

When October rolled around, Mr. Ubel posted the cast list for that year’s Nutcracker. Gemina expected to have the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy. She nonchalantly walked up to the cast list after the crowd dissipated, shocked to see that Estelle got the role-- and she was to play Mother Ginger-- a role traditionally played by a male dancer. She was astounded and demanded that Mr. Ubel must have made a mistake, but he observed that while she was skipping class after going to parties at night with her mother, Estelle had gone to her classes and had started taking classes at higher levels.

Appalled, Gemina revealed to Estelle that she had been telling Mr. Ubel about all her secrets, but Estelle was quick to forgive her. Gemina was again shocked, and asked why she was so quick to forgive. Estelle revealed that when she started taking private lessons during Gemina’s time slots while Gemina was “sick,” Mr. Ubel told her what Gemina had said and encouraged her to apply to Juilliard. He said that the fact that a ballerina’s daughter was terrified that someone may be better than her, enough to tell her teacher her fears, opened his eyes to see Estelle’s potential.

Gemina was still determined to watch Estelle fail at her audition, and insisted that she should write a letter asking for special consideration for early admission, since that is what her mother did. Estelle, thinking that Gemina was proposing this as a sort of apology, ensued and wrote a letter describing her experiences with her friends and how that encouraged her to push herself even harder. She found out through gossip a week later that the Dean of Admissions hates informal letters and was devastated that she wouldn't be allowed to pursue her dream at her dream school.

After another 3 days passed, and Estelle had finally accepted her fate, she got a letter from the Dean, stating that she had been accepted to Juilliard. He also told her that, just before they got her letter requesting early admission, they received a tip that a girl named “Estelle Jones” may send a letter requesting early admission at the urging of a fellow student. What the Dean did not write, was that the tip identified the other student as Gemina, who had already applied to Juilliard 3 times, getting rejected each time. Gemina applied again for the fall semester, accidentally incriminating herself as the culprit in her personal statement to the school. She wrote about her theory that asking for special consideration means that someone is not working hard enough. The other information the letter from the Dean did not say was that Mr. Ubel was the person who provided the tip and that he, unbeknownst to his high school students, had been hired the year prior to start in the fall term as a full-time teacher of ballet at Juilliard.

Gemina went on saying to everyone that Estelle was lying, and that she did not actually get accepted to Juilliard. The fact of the matter was that Gemina did not want to admit that she would be held back for another year at the Performing Arts School, as she missed so many of her classes that she failed the first semester.

* * *

When Estelle went to her first day of classes, she was worried that Mr. Ubel may not be able to come to the student’s “bring your coach to school” meeting, like he said might happen. When she saw Mr. Ubel, she was happy and relieved. After their brief reunion, however, she was shocked when he started to walk to the front of the dance studio when the, still unannounced, instructor was supposed to make a speech. After he pretended not to hear Estelle’s concerns of his humiliation, she realized that he was her new teacher at Juilliard and figured that he had written the tip; she was endlessly excited.

After a week of classes, Estelle went back to the Performing Arts School to teach a few of the young dancer’s classes and saw her friend Gemina. She asked her why she was there and not at Juilliard like she had said. Gemina then admitted to Estelle that she had lied and tried to sabotage Estelle’s career. Estelle understood Gemina's predicament and forgave her. She described how it hurt her all throughout high school, but was ultimately thankful to her, as she would not have worked as hard if Gemina wasn't constantly putting her down. Estelle then told Gemina that she would work one on one with her to help her get into Juilliard if she promised to act as her best friend-- after all, Mr. Ubel knew Gemina's past. By helping her prepare, Estelle was recognized by Juilliard, and Gemina was admitted. At the orientation the next year, Mr. Ubel was proud to announce that Estelle had taken a temporary leave from the school as she had been offered a role in the Corps de Ballet at the American Ballet Theater. Gemina, who had worked with Estelle that previous year, felt so proud of her that she asked her mom to speak highly of Estelle to her bosses, landing Estelle a permanent spot as a soloist at the Theater.

Estelle never found out what Gemina did for her, but remained her best friend, never being rude or bringing up their unfortunate past. Eventually, Mr. Ubel was in such high demand for choreography that he became a producer at the American Ballet Theater, and Gemina joined Estelle as a member of the company.