Personal Narrative: Becoming A Dancer

The first experience of watching a ballet, for me or any little girl, can be fascinating and exhilarating. Wondering how a dancer can be so steady on her toes as she spins in circles and leaps through the air. Watching a ballet, there is a feeling of wanting to be graceful, as well as the warm sensation felt by a little girl as she slips into dream land. My mom had taken me to my first ballet when I was 11 years old. When we returned home home, she signed me up for classes at the local dance center. The expectations to become a prima ballerina would involve much hard work and concentration. I knew when I started it would take years of steady practice and commitment. Learning the history of ballet and the famous

I have been dancing since the age of two. When asked about my career aspirations, there is no hesitation before saying “I want to be a dancer.” Being a dancer means putting all other distractions aside, and focusing on my craft. Currently, I dedicate over forty hours a week to dance, which is a schedule that requires sacrifice. When I am dancing, the rest of the world fades away, slipping out of my mind with relaxed importance. For that moment in time, I am completely free, wholly focused on my goals, letting me know dance is what I’m meant to do. With this realization comes a responsibility to myself and the work I have put into improving my craft thus far, and I know I must seek out the best opportunities for growth and continued learning.

When I started volunteering at Utica Dance in the fall of 2014, I was just as nervous as the newly enrolled dancers in the class I was about to teach. Even though I was only the Volunteer Assistant to the Dance Instructor, I felt as if a heavy responsibility was placed upon me. I oversaw almost twelve children ranging from seven to thirteen who all wanted desperately to become professional dancers, many of which are still pursuing that dream. On top of that, all these children had begged their parents to sign them up for an expensive, intensive fundamental ballet program; then dragged their parents to buy tights and leotards; then dragged them into the waiting room of a dance

Ballet has been the focus of my life since the beginning of my memory. My earliest memory is watching my older sister, Elise, in ballet class at the Rec Plex through that huge glass wall that separated me from the girls in leotards, and begging my mom to let me join them. When I think about ballet, the first thing that comes to mind is my first recital: when I was the first butterfly on stage flapping my arms in the middle of the stage all by myself for a few seconds until the next girls joined me, wearing a pink and purple leotard and tutu, feathered butterfly wings, and a stupid smile. As I have grown up, my dancing has reflected the feeling I have toward myself. In elementary school, I saw myself ahead of the pack; my ego boosted with 100%

In my years of being a dancer, Ms. Liu had gave me some advices that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since.

Growing up was never easy for me, but I did not let that stop me from pursuing my ballet career. I didn’t grow up doing ballet, and taking my first ballet class at the Boys and Girls Club at age 13 gave me a setback compared to others who may have been dancing since they were 3. My teacher put me into many positions,

I’ve grown up in a ballet studio. Not literally, of course, but it is where I’ve spent the majority of my childhood. Throughout the years, the arts have followed me despite the different places life has taken me. Whether it be dance, acting, or music, performing has always played a role in my life. My experiences both on and off the stage have been rocky and unpredictable, but I wouldn’t trade this thrilling adventure for the world.

‘It takes much strength to be a ballet dancer,’ said the teacher. ‘Now we must practice for our

From preschool to my sophomore year of high school, I was a student at Conservatory of Dance in Wilton, Connecticut. It was a place I spent more time than my own home. During the summer of 2014, I attended the Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts for a four week summer intensive. I had one of the most positive experiences, which ended up being life changing for me, not only was the ballet training of a higher caliber than what I was used to and, each teacher differed in their own way and brought new and different aspects of ballet to light. After the four weeks, I was

The fastest way for a performer’s career to end is with an unexpected injury. My freshman year I suffered patella luxation, more commonly known as the dislocation of the kneecap. I was in a full leg brace for a month and a half, and then participated in physical therapy over summer break until I was cleared to return to dance for my sophomore year. The time I had to spend recuperating forced me to explore other pathways associated with my art.

Ever since I was eight years old, the dance studio has been my second home. I assiduously worked and dedicated unconditional effort to this extremely strict discipline. I was never blind to the fact that I lacked some of the “required abilities” a ballerina should have. The idea of me becoming a professional dancer was greatly questioned by my ballet teachers but this did not stop me. After a ballet summer intensive in New York City, I received an unexpected email. I was invited to study at the prestigious Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow, Russia. This school is known as one of the best ballet schools worldwide. Many people dream about attending, and very few get invited. The Bolshoi Ballet Academy, also known as Moscow State Academy of Choreography,

The dancer awoke in a bed covered with unironed clothes and mismatching sheets. Even though the sheets were mismatching they still looked fine. It was 7 in the morning and Sophie had to get up and start packing for a tour around Australia that her mum wants her to go on. It was a nice bright and sunny day she felt like it was last Australia day with no wind and the sun bright up in the sky, all she wanted to do was go outside and play with her friends. Her mum called out for her, “Sophie time to wake up and start packing”

I started performing in the ballet, The Nutcracker when I was very young. Each year my parents took me to the same audition where I painfully waited two weeks to find out what role I had received. I had large parts and I had small parts, but my sweet Nutcracker memories always remained the same. As a devoted ballet student, I began to ponder what I wanted to do with my life. For a while I wanted to be a doctor, then a teacher, and one day I thought maybe even being a marine biologist would be fun. However, these thoughts quickly slipped away as I became increasingly more passionate about dance. Every year as I watched the older dancers perform the lead role of the Sugar Plum Fairy, I knew that I wanted to be that someday too. But Ballet is hard, and I was easily discouraged. I often told myself that I would never be good enough for the gorgeous gold and deep plumb colored tutu. So I slowly descended down a path of self confidence issues and a hate for the one thing that I had once loved most, ballet.

Beginning this class I had taken some ballet before and had a good understanding of the basics even if I was not totally comfortable doing them. However, I still struggled with turning out at the hips, balancing on relevé, maintaining por de bra in an exercise, tilting my head when needed, keeping my neck long, engaging my core (especially when balancing), and using my plie in almost everything. While I was comfortable doing several other things, I know that ballet requires everything to be specifically engaged and that I could not slack in any part of my technique. Things like tilting my head, maintaining por de bra, and keeping my neck long, I am still getting used to but they are becoming more natural as I repeat them each week. It really

At the age of 14, I had the first performance of my solo dancing, which was on the one hand full of excitement and on the other hand utterly stressful. It was not until I put my feet on a stage, that it felt like I was in another dimension just hearing the piece of Tchaikovsky waltz. All the fear and doubt washed away as long as I started dancing. I did realize how important it is to have total control over your body. I had to balance my strength while making motions and using different techniques. However, gifts from the audience were, such as warm applause and the shiny face of my mother.