My home studio in New Orleans did not have any heat. My teacher would say, “What’s the point? Make your own heat.” Besides, New Orleans is famous for jungle-like humidity and long-lasting summers.
But still… It does get cold sometimes. Now and then, but especially in February around Mardi Gras time.
The penetrating cold, punctuated by bone-chilling dampness, is as particular to the city as the summer heat.
Morning class, first of the day, would find dancers wearing home knitted leg warmers and ballet sweaters wound around our upper torsos. Our breath was visible as the barre commenced.
The class was given and taken, but at the end, as the dancers stretched on the barre near the mirrors, the outline of our bodies would appear. The heat of our bodies would cause the cold humidity to condensate and form the shapes. Ghostly gray dancers on the mirrors.
Have you ever seen it?
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