From the My Favourite series - favourite stories on different themes by different authors, each volume edited by a celebrity in the field.
"The first of May, 1902, was the night of my dCbut at the Maryinsky. I felt eager, yet strangely light-headed, and my limbs trembled slightly. My teacher kept by me in the preceding interval. 'Don't stand still. Warm yourself up, ' he advised. 'Courage ' He made the sign of the Cross over me at the first notes of introduction and hurried to the first wing to watch me. Between that night and the present day lies a gulf, the whole distance from...