Puja’s career started very late: she was seven. Her thoughtful mother often talked about her children, saying, ”The time goes so fast. When my child turns three it is too late for serious ballet, then at six, too late for competitive chess, and so on.” Three ballerinas were expected to be unique yet unified. Uniqueness could be developed during the improvisation part of the practice routine. They were asked to go with the music – to be unique as they sensed the music. Other than that, most of the rhythm had to be captured by all of them in the same fashion. They were the Prima Ballerinas. Usually there is the one, but with the heavy schedule of the ballet, they had to do everything in three sets: one local, one for travel, and one to substitute, so each performance is set in stone, no matter what!
Sibel came from very far away. She knew languages, dances and plays. Her style was different but she could comply, blend, and become one of them when needed. Always willing to do anything that was needed for the good of the group, she was often asked to dance during the performances of the Orchestra. The tickets sold better that way. “She is visual,“ the audience kept saying. It was in her dancing – the viola’s sound asked her to slow down, the violin to be more vivid. She used the gong as a signal for her stretching position, only to allow her to be ready for the next dynamic move. She made it so dynamic that she often was able to scare the audience. She could improvise, which all felt like an opposition to the regular drill of the ballet. She called it creation. Once a critic asked how she could know how to control the flow of the dance. “If it feels good, it looks good,” she answered.
Clara liked to dance with partners. She felt secure, supported, and important. She was a good friend to all of her dancing partners. She was the one to be called by anyone at anytime for advice, to borrow something, or just to talk. She’d throw parties with all her dance partners invited, but not too many ballerinas. She was always invited to all parties.