Ballet and the Pain | Teen Ink

Ballet and the Pain

November 6, 2007
By Anonymous

A prima ballerina who went NCSA got a scholarship to Juilliard School of dance and art. Because of how happy she was, she went home and practiced on point for 5 hours straight. Carefully landing her pirouette, she dropped to her knees and grabbed her water bottle. Drinking the water made her feel refreshed and ready to practice more but her mom refused to let her go on. Extremely exhausted, she walked to her room and watched her Juilliard tutorial DVD. Fresca cans crunch against her blistered feet as she walked to turn of the DVD player. “Goodness!” she screamed as her feet bled and caused her pain. Her mom walked in confused at why she screamed. “I just stepped on a soda can mom! I’m fine!”. “Jeeze! Your feet look horrible and that’s got to be from ballet. Fresca soda cans can’t do that much damage!”. Keeping her temper under control, she said, “Ballet is my thing mom! I don’t care how bad my feet look! Ballet is my life and always will be!”. Leaving the room, her mom whispered to her self “Ballet has taken control of my daughter”. Midnight was growing closer and she was falling asleep slowly. Now she was asleep and resting her feet and dreaming of herself performing the Nutcracker on stage in front of millions of people. Opening her eyes, as the new day began, she yelled with excitement “Today I go to Juilliard!”. Piling her clothes into her suitcase she screamed to her mom “Grab my point shoes!”. “Quit ballet” her mom said as she walked in with her point shoes and a sad face. Running downstairs to grab a pop tart she said confused “What are you talking about? I love it!”. “Stop. You know I’m not letting you go to Juilliard.”. Turning around to her mom crying she yelled “You can’t control me forever. I have a car and I can go by myself. You can’t stop me.” Unpacking her daughter’s suitcase, she said “I love you and if you don’t stop now, you’ll end up hurting yourself.”.
Very carefully, her mom stroked her long curly hair. “When I quit ballet, I’ll have nothing to look forward to.” Exiting the room her mom said in a gentle voice “You’ll look forward to life and being free from all the rules of Ballet.” “Yeah. I guess your right mom. Ballet keeps me from spending time with you and hanging out with my friends. I’ll quit. Thanks mom”. “ZzZzZ” she laid down to dream a new dream without ballet and with her mom and her friends and a new life.


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This article has 3 comments.


BALLET said...
on Mar. 22 2012 at 9:46 am
tHIS WAS WELL WRITTEN BUT MY ONLY COMPLAINT IS THAT A DANCER WOULD NEVER GIVE UP THERE LIFE FOR ANYTHING. mOST DEFINATLY NOT IF THEY GOT IN TO JULLIARD. sTILL GOOD WRITING.

on Jan. 2 2012 at 4:11 pm
KScott811 BRONZE, Asbury, New Jersey
4 articles 10 photos 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
G=k(mM)/d^2

I understand this is fiction. I mean it's pretty obvious... but for any true ballerina, notably one talented and passionate enough to dream of Julliard, welcomes any pain as an old friend... That's why I love dancing: the pain comes with practice, and the practice makes you better. The pain is really more of a trophy than a deterrent since it means you have overcome something magnificent.

on Sep. 8 2010 at 6:01 pm
writer-in-pearls GOLD, San Diego, California
10 articles 0 photos 42 comments
I'm sorry, but this is just not realistic. A girl has a spot at Juilliard, and agrees to give up ballet just because her mother tells her to? Ballet is not about pain, it is about getting past the pain, we love every aspect of it, despite the sacrifices. I take it you are not a ballerina.