Life Lessons Learned in a Leotard

By: Miss Becky.

Fifteen years and beyond spent in leotard at a ballet barre yielded a lot of important lessons. Some youtube tutorials that I could be completely confident in publishing after all these years would include making the perfect ballet bun, changing an entire costume/wig/tights/shoe/makeup combo backstage in thirty seconds or less, learning a routine minutes before going on stage, how to stop a run in your tights dead in its tracks, how to do stage makeup (complete with fake eyelashes and blazing red lipstick), while driving to a competition at a school I’ve never been to, how to fake the cheesiest broadway smile imaginable while performing strenuous kicklines, contortionist moves, and sometimes downright impossible human positions.

But aside from all these (perhaps) valuable skills, I can sincerely say that dance has had a very significant impact on my character and my soul. It’s where I learned the most important things about myself. It is where I conquered fears. It is where I learned the meaning of hard work and responsibility. It is where I learned the deep connection of genuine friendship and teamwork. It is where I learned disappointment. It is where I learned how to support, celebrate, and love my peers in their success, even when I wasn’t feeling successful. It is where I dared to dream my biggest dreams. It’s where I found my confidence and learned that there is no one in the whole world like me. It’s where I learned what it means to have a mentor and the heavy responsibility of becoming one myself. It’s where I discovered that I am special and unique and inspired to express myself in a way that when shared with others, can light up the world in a way that only I can. It is where I learned to be comfortable in my own skin. It’s where I became an artist.

It is where I found me.