“MamawhenIgrowupI’mgoingtobeoneofthose!”IsaidthisafterseeingtheCapitalDancingCompanyperformwhenIwasthree.Itwasthefirsttimethatmydreamtookonavividformandactedassomethingimportanttostartmytraining.AsIgrewolderandwasexposedtomoremyinterestsintheworldofdancecertainlyvariedbutthatlittlegirl’sdreamofsomedaybecomingadancerinthecompanyneverleftme.Inthesummerof2005whenIwas18Ireceivedthephonecallwhichmadethatdreamareality:Ibecameamemberofthecompanydatingbackto1925.
AsIlookbackonthatdaynowitsurelylacksanysenseofreality.IbelieveIstayedinastateofpleasantdisbeliefuntilIwashalfwaythroughrehearsals(排练)onmyfirstday.Ineveractuallyexpecttogetthejob.AfterbeingofferedthepositionIwascompletelyastonished.Iremembershakingwithexcitement.
ThoughIwasabsolutelythrilledwiththechanceitdidnotcomewithoutitsfairshareofchallenge.ThroughthestrictrehearsalperiodofdancingsixdaysaweekIfounditvitaltopickupthematerialfastwitheverylastbitofconcentration.Itisthatextremeattentiontodetail(细节)andstressonpracticethatsetusapart.Tothenfollowthosehigh-energyrehearsalswithabusyshowscheduleofuptofiveperformancesadayIdiscoveredanewmeaningofthewords“hardwork.”WhatIthoughtweremyphysicalboundarieswerepushedmuchfurtherthanIthoughtpossible.Ilearnedtomakeeachperformancebetterthanthelast.
TodaywhenIlookattheunbelievablecompanythatIhavethegreathonorofbeingapartofnotonlyasamemberbutasadancecaptainIseeatraditionthathasinspirednotonlygenerationsoflittlegirlsbutasplendidcompanythatcontinuestodevelopandgrow-andinspirespeopleeverydaytofollowtheirdreams.
【小题1】HowmanyyearshastheCapitalDancingCompanyexistedwhentheauthorreceivedthephonecallfromit?