How we cite our quotes: Chapter.Paragraph
Quote #4
I threw myself around in class, crashing to the floor, banging into the walls when the music was wild. I love those classes, that wild feeling. I could spin and fly all over the room and nothing mattered, nothing existed but the sheer swirling ecstasy of the dance and the music. (6.52)
This description sounds more like the way someone might dance at a club or a wild party than an improv class, but it shows just how few outlets Miracle has for self-expression. Dance class is a place where she can be herself without worrying about judgmental comments from Gigi or being told to get off the furniture; it's her own secret, safe place.
Quote #5
If being a prodigy came from God, how was I supposed to become one? I didn't have much time left. I would be thirteen soon, the age Dane had been when his first book came out. What would happen to me if I never became a great dancer, or I never developed any supernatural powers like Gigi? Then Dane would never come back, even if the house did belong to him. (8.13)
It's kind of weird how Gigi's thing about prodigies gets all tied up with her supernatural stuff. Miracle seems to believe there will be some kind of punishment for her if she doesn't have a special ability like her dad. Specifically, she thinks there's a connection between her developing an artistic skill and Dane returning. No pressure or anything, though… not.
Quote #6
When my thoughts got too disturbing—most disturbing—I would jump up from the floor and put on one of Dane's Bob Dylan tapes, and dance wild. I danced, shook, and rattled the thoughts clear out of me. I danced until I felt the ecstasy, until I felt the bruises. (9.3)
Miracle's improvisational dancing isn't just about expressing herself, it's also a way of proving that she's a real person. The fact that she needs to experience pain to assure herself that she exists proves just how empty she is.