Angela Angelovitch, the greatest ballet dancer in living memory, is going to give her last performance. “Angela,” says Petrov, her manager, “for this performance, you must give everything, EVERYTHING!”
That night, when the curtains are drawn back, Angela is standing on a platform, high above the stage, wearing a small pair of wings. The orchestra is playing and Angela leaps into the air and lands gracefully on the stage, to loud cheers. Immediately, Angela jumps up and daintily climbs a ladder, and goes even higher than before. The orchestra plays loudly, and Angela springs into space. She spins through the air and lands on her tiptoes.
A rope descends and, to thundering applause, Angela is lifted right to the roof. The drums roll and then there is a deathly hush. Angela jumps. She flies, spinning through the air, and lands in the middle of the stage with her legs apart, in a perfect split. The audience is hysterical.
At last, the curtains close and the audience starts to go home. Angela is resting motionless on the stage. Her legs are still split wide apart. “Bravo! Encore!” shouts Petrov, her manager, walking onto the stage, clapping his hands. “Petrov,” says Angela, “will you do me a favor?”
“Yes, my darling,” replies Petrov, “after a performance like that, anything!” “Okay,” says Angela, “then rock me a little, and break the suction!”