The Ballerina in me

The dream was always to be a dancer. I’ve always loved to dance and at age four, my parents sent me to my first Ballet class. I fell in love with the art form, from my very first lesson and dreamed of becoming a professional ballerina one day.

As I got older and my back pain started increasing, I slowly started digesting the fact that the dream might not materialise. Reality hit hard when I was finally told what’s wrong with my spine, and even harder each time doctors told me to stop dancing because I might make the condition worse. Dancing was my escape, and every time they would take that away from me.

I eventually accepted the fact that I’ll never manage to make a career from dance, but I did not let my back stop me from dancing or a career in the arts. I found a way of channeling my passion for the arts mainly through working in arts administration, but also through my part-time performing. And since I mainly perform musical theatre, I still have to dance in some way or form most of the time, so I didn’t fully give up that part of me.

My grandma was still dancing whenever she heard music, even at 94. I truly admire her for that. If by chance I happen to live that long, I hope that I’ll somehow still find the strength to dance my worries away, in spite of living a life with chronic back pain.