the ballerina

___Time for another interview! Remember how I have really awesome friends who are insanely talented/smart/amazing? You've met the baker and the designer, so now I'd like to introduce you to the dancer. Ballerina to be more specific. Because we all love those gorgeous pictures of graceful ballet dancers, and the idea of the flowing fabrics and satiny, delicate shoes. My friend, Chelsea, has been dancing ballet since she was teeny, tiny, and now that she (like me) is graduating and going off to college (a quite prestigious one at that!), she knows all to well what really goes on behind those tutus and point shoes.

What is your favorite thing about ballet?

___My favorite thing about ballet is when I dance and I can really feel the flow of the music with what I'm dancing. Also, I love when the hard work pays off and all the steps go perfectly. I loveeee turns :) pirouettes and pique turns are my favorite haha

What's your least favorite thing about dancing?

___My least favorite thing is probably all the drama. It came to a point that I almost didn't want to dance anymore.. I was close to quitting one time, and it really killed me because I used to love it so much. It's a lot of politics and craziness and that's all I have to say about that!!

Your favorite moment since you started?

___My favorite moment was probably when I was dancing as a demi-soloist in the Waltz of the Flowers in the Nutcracker. The past two years actually... with non-other than my best friend Meghan. It was a pretty excellent feeling.

The biggest misconception about dancing?

___Biggest misconception about dance I'd say is how hard it is. It takes sooo much practice to do things that might appear to be simple. People don't realize it until they try to do it themselves haha. Also, there are lots of injuries and pain in general haha. Like Miss Patty said in "Gilmore Girls,"

Miss Patty: Nothing ever happens. Oh, except for that one time.

Luke: What one time?

Miss Patty: Well I took my senior ballerinas to try out for "The Nutcracker", and one of the girls pulled a Tonya Harding and knocked the front runner for Clara out of the competition. Broke her leg in three places.

Luke: That's not nothing. That is the opposite of nothing.

Miss Patty: It's totally different. It's a much rougher crowd.

Luke: Rougher crowd? They're ballerinas.

Miss Patty: Oh yeah, I know. Everyone thinks "Ballerinas-so sweet, so fragile." Trust me they're dancing on stress fractures and ingrown toenails, and they haven't eaten in weeks.

___Minus the part about not eating, that is very accurate. People with bruised, in-grown, or just plain losing toenails is NOT uncommon. It's gross. And ankle and knee issues... it's a real pain. I've always been relatively lucky but some of my friends haven't.

What lessons have you learned from ballet?

___I have learned that sometimes when you work your hardest it isn't enough. Dance, like many other industries, is not clear cut and the politics often rule over talent or passion. Favoritism played a large role in my time dancing and it was at times extremely frustrating. However, I still stayed true to myself and worked hard. In the end, I think my love for dance has survived all the obstacles that have tested it.