On Not Talking

I started following the Dutch National Ballet’s online barre lessons during lockdown, led by a pleasant and exact man called Ernst and his virtuoso pianist, Rex. The comments under the videos came in from all over the world. A sixty-year-old astronomer from Bulgaria who worked in a planetarium wrote that she turned on the classes every morning. She didn’t look at the movements, she said, only listened to the music, did gymnastics, jumped, ran and danced for forty minutes. Just as often as the posters celebrated the energy they felt as a result of Ernst’s teaching, they rejoiced in Rex’s enthusiasm.