Playdate With a Primadonna

White swan, black swan — and then there was her.

Photo by VENUS MAJOR on Unsplash

Aphrodite Rose. It made sense that the primadonna ballerina of this year’s rendition of Swan Lake was named after the goddess of love and beauty. I knew it from the moment I saw her dark eyes staring out from her mask of make-up while she stood in costume for rehearsal.

“Are you going to continue to stare, Frederick?” my colleague asked. “You look as if you’ve been bewitched.”

I shook myself. “No,” I said, though I was somewhat dazed. I couldn’t help it.

There was something about her.

Something almost supernatural, really.

It was like love at first sight.