Terpsichore

The story centers on classical ballet and the profound meaning it holds in the lives of three teenage girls. Among them are Yuki, who is completing her first primary year, and Chika, her elder sister by a single year. Through their experiences, the narrative explores what dance demands of, and gives to, the young people who devote themselves to it. Their world becomes entwined with that of Kumi, an unusual girl whose family has been cast into disgrace by her father's debts. In the aftermath of this downfall, Kumi is even pressed by her own mother to pose for photographs — a burden she carries alone, weighing heavily on her young shoulders and setting her apart from her peers. Yet Kumi may share a hidden bond with the art at the heart of the story: her aunt Michiko was once a prima ballerina, a dancer of the very highest caliber. Perhaps the girl has inherited that rare, extraordinary talent — a possibility that could reshape the futures of all three of them.