My parents signed me up for ballet class when I turned four-years-old, and I immediately loved it.
I demonstrated a natural balance and flexibility and progressed very quickly.
By the time I was nine-years-old, I was devoting most of my extra time to working at the studio. By then, I had joined the touring company. We traveled all over the US as well as Canada to perform. I continued ballet training throughout high school and four years of college. For a time, I hoped to make ballet my career. However, it is an extremely strenuous life that demands a lot of sacrifice. Dancers don’t earn much money and often lose their livelihood because of injury. The career is short and yet dancers have no chance of making a family. I decided to follow a more secure work path. When I joined the workforce, got married and started paying a mortgage, I quit ballet entirely. I concentrated on my husband, my career and responsibilities around our house. Within a few years, I’d put on some weight and was not happy with how I looked or felt. I missed my dance training terribly. When I brought this up to my husband, he suggested we convert an unused area of the house into a ballet studio. We installed hardwood floors, a wall of mirrors and a barre. I now set my alarm earlier in the morning to allow time to workout in my home studio. Ballet is a physically demanding pursuit, requiring a lot of strength, flexibility, coordination and stamina. The movements utilize the entire body. I have lost the extra pounds, toned my muscles and definitely improved my quality of life. I am not training for the lead in a public performance, but I am prioritizing my health and wellness again.