I do apologise to any of you suffering from arachnophobia out there but I wanted to share with you the story of 'The Ballet Students and the Spider'.On Friday 4th October, we celebrated the achievements of the students who entered the Royal Academy of Dance examinations in the summer. The amphitheater was full with an audience of BJ students, all of Year 2 and parents. The ballet students were nervously waiting for their turn to show us their exam pieces when, suddenly, there was a ripple of excitement as some of the children noticed a huge spider (slightly larger than my outstretched hand) clinging to the top of the curtains at the back of the stage.
The dancing started and that is when the spider become a little more interested in her surroundings. Slowly but surely and very gracefully, she began to descend the curtain, getting closer and closer to the floor. Six little girls danced on, oblivious to what was happening behind them. But not so the audience who seemed transfixed - some with delight, others with horror. With visions of a stampede (led by one of the Year Six teachers who shall remain nameless) I did the only thing I could. By this time the spider was about two feet from the floor. Grabbing a small rubbish bin, I made my way between the dancers, advanced upon the spider and with shaking hands managed to encourage her to perform an elegant pirouette into the bin. With my heart hammering and my legs turning to jelly I passed the bin over to our Chair of Governors (another brave woman - thank you Sahar) and she gave it to one of the teachers. What happened after that I don't know, however from now on I shall always look carefully around when in the amphitheater.
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| Giant spider just out of shot |
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| Year 6 students |
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| Dancing with pizazz |
