Children have a lot of dreams, and when I was a child, my dream was to be a ballerina, like many young girls. Can you imagine a little girl entering a dance studio for the first time, after she has been imagining it for years? I was only five years old, but I remember that moment exactly. It was the first time that I saw the ballet barres and mirrors, the first time that I walked (and then danced) on the cracking wood of parquet. Still now I can smell the Greek pitch (the powder used by dancers). Finally, there was the sun reflecting from the windows.

But my most significant recollections are the pink of my tutu and my shortness of breath. At the center of the studio were some girls doing exercises, others were in line, and some were talking to one another. They were so beautiful and elegant, with tapered legs. The movements of their arms were so gentle and harmonious. I could have kept looking at them forever. They used their bodies to communicate through music, and in that moment, I fell in love with ballet.

Then the music started, and the teacher began to count: “one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.” This is the sound that I’ll never forget, because it’s the sound not only of music, but also the sound of my heart beating when dancing.

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Marilena Capasso, age 31, was born and raised in Naples, Italy. She arrived in the United States in 2019. She writes, “In Italy, I graduated from college with a degree in business management, and I had the chance to live in different places in my country. This is my first experience living abroad, and it’s awesome.” Marilena Capasso studies English at the New York Public Library’s Kips Bay branch, where her teacher is Michele Persaud and the site adviser is Michelle Lopolito.