REVERENCE

The book tells the tale of a seven-year-old girl who starts to study ballet and dreams of reaching her goal as prima ballerina. She studied at the San Francisco Ballet and is encouraged to dance. She started in the opera when they needed a small elf to go on stage where Salvatore Baccaloni was sleeping under a tree, with this small elf poking him in the opera Falstaff. The blue lights were enchanting, and every minute was sheer heaven. This was the beginning of a profession that demands total dedication and love. It is fi lled with anecdotes, laughter, and tears. In writing this book, the author describes what goes on in a company that tours and dances every night on different stages. The author lives in San Francisco with her husband, John R. Upton Jr. as well as in the Napa Valley where John and his brother pioneered Three Palms Vineyard, once the site of Lillie Hitchcock Coit's Napa Valley home.