Breaking Pointe

Ballet. So elegant and graceful. Effortless and painless to the untrained eye. And yet, so tiring, so much effort, so much pain. The blisters, the heartache, the time. Everyday I get out from school, dash to the ballet studio and practice for three hours. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I have an hour of stretch class after dance. On Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday I do ballet-inspired exercise classes for an hour and a half in the morning. I get one rest day, Friday. Even then, it’s not really a rest day. I still am thinking about dance. Still stretching, still holding my posture correctly. Still trying not to break.