This past week, my daughter Stella had her first dance class of the season. She looked so cute in her pink tutu and her ballet slippers. Her enthusiasm for the class was infectious and when my wife called me from the car on the way to her class, I could hear her telling me “Going to dance, Dad” in her cutest little voice. That evening I asked her to show me what she learned, and she gleefully twirled on her tiptoes.

Eyes closed and arms stretched high, I wish I could see what she was imagining in her mind, as I am sure she is taking the stage as the star of “Swan Lake” or some other equal production. She is certainly my star. The likelihood of Stella becoming a famous ballet dancer is slim, but I won’t count her out just yet. Certainly, there have been dancers from humbler beginnings. Eugene Faccuito was born in Steubenville on March 20, 1925, and would become one of the greatest jazz dancers of all time.