She slowly took a 6-count step toward centre stage. Her unexpected appearance caused a sudden, collective, intake of breath by the audience, wherein, as if in syncopated unison, that audible gasp rose in the crowded theatre, and echoed from the far reaches of the elaborate opera house! At centre stage, she paused, and ever so slightly, performed a plié, pushed to retiré, and rotated into a graceful half-pointe pirouette, effortlessly and flawlessly executed. That collective gasp and long-held breath, now a sigh, wooshed audibly as they exhaled, for she had delicately melted to the floor in swan-like elegance!

At 82, Madam Latriceie was the epitome of grace and refinement, still as flexible and graceful as a Persian cat.

The audience erupted in thunderous applause, some openly sobbing for they so missed her...