Two years ago, I found myself sitting in my car outside a dance studio for my first ballet class. I laughed a little as I texted a friend that I was nervous to go inside.
I was 23, and my last experience with any sort of dance had been many years prior. I also had no natural musicality.
Though I’d always been captivated by dancers and enchanted by the natural work ethic of prima ballerinas, what really inspired me to get out of my comfort zone was the desire for a “third place.”
The term, coined by sociologists, refers to a social setting beyond work and home. As a recent college graduate who’d been feeling stuck in my daily work-from-home routine and missing my long-distance friends, finding a place where I could build a community and escape life’s stresses felt especially relevant.
Little did I know that years later I’d still be returning to ballet classes week after week.
Not only have I learned the right way to point my foot, but I’ve also learned some valuable lessons that I carry far beyond the studio.
Building community has been incredibly valuable
Walking into the studio for my first class, I wasn’t thinking I’d end up en pointe by the end of the week, but I hoped I’d enjoy it, make new friends, and learn something new.
I stumbled a bit through the routines, but luckily, the instructor was careful to go slowly and show why each movement needed to be deliberate and graceful.
It was comforting to look at the other students and share a look of confusion, and a few classes later, it was nice to feel the same pride when we nailed a combination.
With so many of my friends a long plane ride away, it’s been refreshing to have a local group of people with whom I can surround myself and learn something new.
I know the rough sketches of what’s going on in my fellow students’ lives and the personalities of each teacher, and although I may not see everyone outside the studio, there’s a reliable rhythm to knowing what my Wednesday nights will look like.
The studio owner and I have known each other for over two years now, and she’s seen me progress into someone who actually understands the ballet commands she relays in French. We have a regular rapport, and she knows when my birthday is.
Here, my peers see me in a different light than my friends and colleagues do, in my pale pink ballet slippers with my hair tied back, finally mastering bending my elbow just so.
I’m grateful for the opportunity to fulfill a childhood dream
Growing up, dance was a skill I admired, but not something I ever saw myself doing. I didn’t feel confident enough to perform alongside others who might be more naturally talented.
Instead, I gravitated toward playing tennis and writing — skills I felt more confident in, and still do today — but as I got older, I realized I could still choose to do ballet.
Of course, I don’t want to make a fool of myself, but as an adult ballerina, I have no vision of becoming a principal dancer in the New York City Ballet. Knowing that has been incredibly freeing as I laugh my way through grand battements and look at myself in the mirror during rond de jambes.
Though I’m not perfect at it, I have fun and find myself learning and growing each and every class. Plus, I also have the opportunity to join in performances, which I hope to do for the first time this year.
I appreciate that ballet has given me a place to learn and make mistakes without professional or personal consequences.
Every time I enter the studio, I know I’m doing something for both my younger self and who I am now, and that means the world to me.
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