"I can't get over how Ilona has changed since Denver," Lucy remarked to Vida in the taxi. "There she was proud of having studied with Fokine. Then, before you came, she changed her billing to The Klemper School of Polyrhythmics. She phoned one day and said if I was really serious about the art of the dance I would ask Beman to hire her to put on numbers in his show, that she would like to elevate Broadway taste. She had her pupils show me her new type of work. They pretended they were typewriters in one number. I didn't think the audience would get it because she had to explain it to me. In a show you can't explain what you do, you have to do it, and fast. And those costumes they wear would never go in a show. But I never knew until today that she wants to perfom herself."
"Another thing you don't know is that she has a new word for herself. She is an 'Artodaist.' Art—today—ist. Get it?"
"The trouble with you is, you won't be serious about her."
"You said it."
"Maybe we don't appreciate her. But I know I'm not going to let her influence me, especially now when I feel I'm learning something from Ranna. And I'm getting better at Master's."
"Good!"
En route to Master's the next day Lucy decided she would not tell him Ilona's theories because he was apt to get mad fast and besides she didn't know how to demonstrate universal emotion. Every position had to be just so or he hit the ceiling. Working with Ranna was interesting and artistic but a good exact workout at Master's made you feel like a million dollars all over.
Master too was pleased at the change in her. "At last you are becoming serious, Claudel—see that you continue," he had said a few days ago. It was a compliment, for Master rarely praised.
But today, seeing her practice Ranna's walking step before the mirror, he groaned. "What kind for a walk is that? Straighten your knees. Arch! Arch!"
She had to admit the step looked odd in tights. "I was just practicing Hindu technique. I am studying with a great Hindu dancer."
Master was not impressed. For him any other form of dancing was inferior to ballet. "If in the mood you are for work, better to improve your turnout than to learn pigeon toe," he commented acidly.
