Personal Narrative: The World Of Ballet

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

Ballet has kept its classic and elegant movements the same but the way they see the female dancers has change the look of it. With ballet there are little dark secrets that are hidden and with it. No matter how nice the dance is there is going to be women that want look better than the next girl on the barre. The old look for dancers was to be short and have muscle because being on pointe is very hard. But now sense society wants girls to be all skinny so ballet with that took it to the extend. And with this many higher schools require their girls to not be on diets so that their fat they eat will be burned up by the end of practice. Having the thought many of the parents of young daughters are brought in to have a talk about how they can portion out their kid and also talk about the training they need to make a career out of this. But ballet is not all bad it has become to know with the more modern song, in which mean that ballet has became also fast beat and sassy when it came to the girls role. No matter what there is there is a fence with ballet that many love it or hate it just depends what side you’re on.

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

A week and a half later, we had to perform in front of the school during

Hence, by looking back to the beginning of ballet, it is safe to say that ballet has come a long way from being a foreign art to a dance embraced and loved by Americans. It began with only a few companies in New York, but today there are more than “65 professional, million-dollar-budget ballet companies” in the United States (Legro). Many American girls as young as three years old are taking ballet lessons and dreaming of one day becoming a ballerina in the nation’s top ballet companies. As to why these little girls are deciding to learn this art, a 14 year from California replies, “ I just think it is fun and my mom and my sister also danced ballet when she was younger, so I guess it is just part our family ” (C. Chen, personal communication,

There is a large amount of stress put on the bodies of dancers when participating in ballet. Although they may be a part of an industry that holds itself to a certain standard, there are aspects that create unnecessary pressure and tension among dancers. These stresses include body image and self esteem. Even from a young age many dancers experience the pressure to look a certain way. On one account, a 12 year old girl in a ballet class was told to lose weight which made her realize

It is our time to go backstage, we all fill in. As I wait , I am very apprehensive and nervous to go on.

For the past twelve years, I have trained in the beautiful, disciplined, and often grueling art of ballet. During my years as a student, I learned the technique, musicality, and artistry needed to become a ballerina, but, more importantly, I discovered the strong character traits that are necessary for success. Every aspect of my ballet training has provided me with unique, essential qualities. Focus, respect, and meticulousness were emphasized and learned in every class, cooperation and trust were mastered during partnering, and fearlessness was acquired after numerous performances. Though all of these characteristics have shaped me as an individual, I am most proud of the hard work ethic that I have achieved.

To begin with, people usually start ballet at a young age such as 5. However, I started when I was 12. My inspiration was Misty Copeland, the first dark skinned dancer that became the ABT’s soloist which also got in ballet at the age of 12. Ever since I was a kid, I dreamed about dancing but I couldn’t afford lessons. 6 months after I finally got in, I was promoted to the most advanced group. They say I was born with talent and now, I stand doing endless turns and jumps, performing my heart out during solos. Ballet has made me not only and expressive person throughout dance, but only a hard worker because after working hard, I got to be this high and now I apply this for school and everything I do.

Okay, I tell myself. Deep breaths. You got this. You trained so hard. Besides, it’s not like anything is depending on this, right? Okay, big lie. Everything is depending on this. Your sister’s spot on her dream team, your sister’s enrolment in this ballet school, your sister’s career—everything.

Unfortunately the beautiful world of ballet comes with a high price. The women who dance in the ballet are training from sun up to sun down six days a week. They suffer from bruised feet and have to endure a life with no social activities whatsoever. They also have extreme pressure to keep their weight to unreasonably low levels.

I also will tell them that I probably have more recital dances than them, and I also have 10 competition dances, but I still manage to practice all of them and dance my best)

we all pile into the bus and start our journey to Minnesota. Everyone falls back to sleep because it is so early, but I can’t. I’m just so nervous. I was drawing when I heard someone sit down next to me. I turn my head to see Dustin sitting next to me. “Are you okay? You look a little pale.” Dustin asks, “Ya, I’m fine, just nervous.” I reply. “Why?” asks Dustin, “I’m always nervous before we dance.” I say while my voice shakes a little, “Oh. I promise you we will do amazing. You made the dance and taught it to us, you can handle anything.” Dustin say with confidence in his voice. I just sit there and think about what he said. He’s right I did make the routine, I did teach them the

After two warm-up classes and time for putting on makeup and costumes Lisa comes calles us on stage.

Dancing is a language, one anyone can read; however, the skill lies not in the ability to read, but in the passion to write. When people hear the word dance, more specifically ballet, they associate it with a stereotypical image of young girls prancing around in tutus, however, ballet goes beyond the scope society has set for it. Most individuals don’t fully comprehend that ballet is a literacy practice with various skill sets. In Barton and Hamilton’s “Literary Practice” they define a literacy practice as “what people do with the literacy”(3). To be a ballerina you have to be well versed in an assortment of instruction; from body, to technique, to language, to musicality, etc., ballet is a literacy practice that recognizes the extensive