People have said to me:

“Ballet is so easy.”

“It’s literally just spins and leaps.”

“Wow, I can’t believe you put all of your time into that.”

“It’s not even a sport.”

Do you think these words just fly over our heads? Does it make you feel good to say this? Have you ever thought about how this makes us feel?

I wish I could show you how hard we really work. I don’t think you understand the pain dancers go through physically and emotionally. 

 We are dancing on our feet all the time. It has led to blood, blisters, tears, and even injuries. I’m sure in your sport you have had an injury and have had to take time off for recovery. Ballet dancers have to do this too, but it takes us even longer to get back to the point we used to be at. We build muscle memory, and when you get injured you lose almost all of that. We have to gain back the technique we’ve been improving on for years just like the technique you build in your sports. Coming back after an injury makes us work even harder than before so we can get back to the point we were at before. The New York Times even says that “the hardest working people in show business may well be ballet dancers.” This just shows that both of us, dancers and athletes, have to be aware of injuries and work hard to gain back all that we would have lost. 

Another struggle we go through which I’m sure you have heard before: “The ideal dancer body.”

This gets so many dancers.

Just imagine being in front of a mirror all day

Imagine judging yourself constantly. 

Imagine wearing something that is just so tight.

Imagine comparing your body to others. 

Imagine all of that.

It can be rough. 

There’s a lot of hard things we do.

In the end, it’s worth it.

I’ve been doing ballet since I was two years old. When I was younger I did it because that’s what my mom signed me up for. Now it’s a full time commitment and I do it because I love it. Dancers from the Pacific Northwest Ballet company have said, “rehearsals can last six hours per day for several weeks.” This makes the studio many dancers home away from home. Without it, we wouldn’t be who we are today.

Ballet is incredibly hard.

Just like your sport.

I hope you have started to understand now,

                Abbey Garrison