The Black Swan's Final Revenge Pirouette: The 99th Game Was Mine All Along by Kylie Homme

Chapter 12

That evening, Ariana lay in bed aggressively refreshing job boards and submitting applications to dance companies, her laptop casting a blue glow across her determined face in the darkened London bedroom.

The application process for elite European ballet companies was far more demanding than American ones. Applications required submission at least three months in advance, followed by a grueling series of auditions and technical assessments spanning weeks.

Only after clearing every hurdle could one secure even the most junior position.

Despite her legs not being fully rehabilitated, Arlana began what her mother called her “application blitz.” simultaneously developing a punishing practice regimen in the small dance studio they’d installed in the townhouse basement.

Though Luigi’s systematic revenge had prevented her from joining any professional companies during those three years, dance had remained her secret sanctuary. During those years, whenever he would disappear for “business meetings” (which she now understood were rendezvous with Leila), she would retreat to a small studio she’d rented off–campus. There, alone with just mirrors and music, she’d maintained her technique through endless repetition of fundamentals.

Dance had been her first love–before Luigi, before everything. She had allowed that passion to be overshadowed, but never extinguished.

Three months later, during her final audition for the National Ballet of England, Ariana pormed with a

technical precision and emotional depth that left the judging panel visibly moved.

As she completed her variation with a flawless grand jeté into a controlled arabesque, the artistic director exchanged glances with her colleagues–they had found their new soloist.

When the scores were revealed, she had received straight A’s across every category–a feat accomplished perhaps once or twice a decade.

During the feedback session, the senior artistic director studied her with professional curiosity. “Ms. Collins, your technical abilities are extraordinary, but there’s something puzzling in your performance

history.”

without breaks. Yet after your junior year at Boston University, there’s a complete absence of competition or performance for three years. Most dancers with your potential would be aggressively building their portfolio during

the microphone, but her face remained composed. When she spoke, her

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Final Revenge Pirouette: The 99th Gijk Wa All Alo

consumed those years,” she said. “Classic

panel’s sympathetic expressions, she offered a serene smile. “But that chapter’s closed now.

this point forward, thy career is my only partnership. Dance doesn’t lie, manipulate, or betray–it just

the panel as much as her technical prowess. She wasn’t running from her past–she had processed it and moved beyond.

Ballet of England became the talk of the dance world. As the only auditionee in five

the London Times to declare: “Collins doesn’t merely dance

dynamic new artistic director, invitations flooded in from prestigious venues across Europe, Asia, and North America–including Boston’s

her office, the director

her “death” and rebirth, she had nearly decided Ariana

during the American tour.

suggest this arrangement, Ariana interrupted: “I see that look, Margaret. I’m going. The company needs its principal dancer for the

directly on the itinerary. Your former life–the people who think

for our

“I’ll perform wearing the Odette mask for

press and interviews, Zoe can represent as first

vocal rest.”

nails against the polished desk, weighing the proposal against potential complications. Finally, she nodded. “You’ve thought this through.

stop on the National Ballet of England’s American