The lights dim, and the audience hushes. I look to see to see the audience without being noticed. It’s a sold out performance. Suddenly the sound of Tchaikovsky fills the theatre. I start running out, the thrill of being onstage and dancing for a sold out crowd is amazing. Since I was two years old I wanted to do something on stage. that was the first year for me starting ballet and I loved it. At two years old I knew I wanted to keep doing it. When I turn thirteen it will be my eleventh year dancing!
Even though its almost my eleventh year dancing only last year I got my pointe shoes. It takes a lot of strength to dance on your toes. If you start too early you can damage your feet because they have not built up the strength and structure for you to safely dance on pointe.
Lots of people tend to say ballet is easy but when, but when they say that, I glare at them and ask them to do a double pirouette with their knees straight, legs turned out, stomach in, bottom down, back straight, standing all the way on the ball of their foot with their neck long, arms rounded, and oh ya, don’t forget to spot. But at the same time i know that when they did see ballet they saw some good ballet dancers because its a dancers job to make themselves look effortless and graceful because not many people would like to see a ballet dancer biting her lip as she slowely pulls onto point with veins coming out their neck and all that gross stuff.
But when I put on a performance all of the hard work through the year pays off. Without dance I can honesly say that my life would defiantly not be what it is now, and I wouldnt have met my bestfriends.
Eleven years of dancing! And you’re only thirteen years old. Wow.
How many hours a week do you practice? What performance are you currently getting ready for? I admire your dedication!
I dance 4 hours a week, monday and friday for 1 hours 45 min. Tuesday for and hour and a half, and thursday for two hours.
I am currently getting ready for the nutcracker. It will be my ninth year doing the nutcracker, (five years with ballet austin)! I’m so excited for this years performance because there are new costumes, sets and choreography!
I dance 3 hours a day and am currently on the West Austin Competition Team. This weekend, I am going on a charter bus (with TVs and stuff) with my team to Barton Rouge, Louisiana, and I am very excited! My team has 56 kids on it, including ages 6 through 18! I have been on team for 4 years. You have to audition to get in. We are going to the Move the World fundraising convention to perform production and many other cool pieces.
What types of dance do you like? Unlike most people, I like tap above other types. Most people like jazz, but tap is my favorite! I am also on pointe and this is my second year, too! Pointe is extremely hard, especially if your doing it for a looooong time! I take ballet before pointe, and I always groan when I do twice as much elevaes and relevaes than my teammates and am twice as sore when Team day comes! I do 25 relevaes on both feet, then 25 on each leg in coupe and the same for elevates…for BOTH classes! But I don’t complain because I know they are very good for me.
Except I do not dance on Fridays or the weekend because I usually have rehearsal or competition. Most of the time, I come home at around 8:30 or 9:00, but sometimes I have too much homework!