Faux Pas?

Last night I passed the local ballet school on my way to the beach. A thirty-something woman was standing in front of the open window, looking in. Oh cute, I thought, children’s ballet class. I approached and turned to look inside, expecting toddlers in tutus. Instead I saw a group of adults dressed in black at the barre, in the middle of a beginners class. I did a double take and, oddly embarrassed, quickly walked on.

Later I wondered about my reaction. Was my embarrassment for me or for them, bunch of oversized students in leotards clumsily practicing demi-pliés? Why would it have been ok to stop and watch five year-olds clumsily practise them? Because I was somehow baffled at that woman spectator. Just glancing in while walking past and I already felt like a voyeur. But she just stood there, nonplussed, less than two metres away from the first person at the barre. If you were him/her, wouldn’t you want some privacy?