Miss Susanna’s School of Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hawaiian, and Baton Twirling
“Mom! The two twins! mom! The twins. The twins from James Street are here!”
Miss Susanna squealed delightedly-- the little red headed twins had arrived.she knew us! how? she saw us!How? when she drove by our house and we were playing outside, the little twins now come to dance in her studio, her own studio late of the basement a real dance studio with wooden dance floor, wall mirror barre, piano, victrola, a front room for changing and waiting, and a bathroom and the window to pay. Walls lined with pictures of Susanna as a child looking just like Shirley Temple all golden curls close ups, then in costumes so many they ring the entire room. And her mother Mrs. Brogan little, wren, bird like glasses brown hair, brown pale face, tight curls, glasses on a string, high pitched voice.
“Mom the little twins are here from James Street!”
The click- clatter the sharp bell ringing the taps the taps! THE TAPS! the noise the sparkling black patent blinking in the light. Here! Stamp!I’m here: stamp. stamp. stamp!I’m here. little girl. skinny legs. sweaty little feet. warm scent of leather and hot tap shoes, black shining, so black! Mirror shiny! Sharp taps, bell taps, ring! bling, ching! tap. tap. tap! gros grain ribbons, gros-grain ribbons got to go across the street to the 5 and 10 and get black gros grain ribbons, snip. scissors. cut!tie in a bow on your shoes, just right, just pretty, so tight, so nice! Ribbons tied in a black bow on top of tap rapping tapping ringing shoes. here girl, here. tap. Victrola, hum, scratch, warm, smells warm, music like on the TV! like dancers on the TV! “Sweet Lorraine” tap toe tap twice on one foot, change, tap toe tap twice on the other foot, tap mirror see that one is me- that one is sister that one is Her! So big! So tall! Such red cheeks, she knows everything! she wants us! the twins from James Street. oh giggle and wiggle and scrape along the wide wooden floor and dance and twirl in the mirror. Silver and tall and that one, that one is me!
Miss Susanna, teasing! tickling,
“shush!”
giggle, more, no, no more. giggles. can’t stop!
“No lollipop!” little talkers! Chattering, “chatter boxes!, I’m going to get you! I’m going to get you , I’m going to tickle you! here I come!”
she does! O! little tickles then up, up and over and my face as red as my hai,r my hair like mommy’s mop on the floor, I’m hanging upside down I’m laughing I can’t catch my breath Miss Rosanna has me upside down, she’s laughing, I see myself in the big mirror upside down!
“I told you! chatter box! little chatter box!” my face as red as my hair, she has me in her arms I’m upside down in the big mirror. hair red. hair mop. mop girl, red face, music scrape stamp dance lollipop. am I bad? was I bad? no not bad, pretty, pretty, pretty, and nice!
“the twins mommy! the twins from James Steet.here.. are here.. are here!"
sweaty little feet, standing on the bench to pay at the window, shy. scary: Mrs. Brogan, sometimes nice, sometimes just grabs the money, her eyeglasses glitter on their chain on and off and on again,
“come on girls! hurry up girls!”
Miss Susanna's School of Dance!
