For professional ballet students, pain is an indispensable companion. Every morning, students begin their day with painful stretching exercises to align their bodies daily, to make their bodies flexible enough to meet the demands of complex ballet movements.
Legs split open more than 180 degrees, backs bend like a bow, every joint of the leg and arm cracks. It hurts to the point of tears, but they still grit their teeth and endure, because stopping means falling behind. They learn to endure, learn to turn pain into a part of life.
They trade youth for rolling around on the practice floor, trade fun with friends to maintain their figure, maintain their weight, maintain every perfect line for an actor’s body.
Although they started learning from a very young age (12 years old), they still force themselves into the mold of discipline, where there is no room for laziness or weakness.
They have to spend 4-6 years of hard training to become a ballet dancer. But it is also in that hardship that the beauty of love and passion for art emerges.
When the sore feet continue to tiptoe with pride, when the slender hands draw soft curves in the air, we see the will and tremendous effort of those who choose dance as their way of life. And if anyone is wavering in the face of difficulties, look at them – those who have gone through pain, gone through tears, to reach their dreams.
Success has never been for those who easily give up.
