christinehaggerty

As a child, did you ever go to the ballet? Can you remember watching a ballerina for the first time? I can—I was four. Mostly, I recall the way her body bended in a fluidity of graceful movements. She held me mesmerized. Even back then, I was short, and carried about as much elegance as a charging rhinoceros. I think it was because I was lacking so greatly in the potential ballerina department that I was so enthralled. The beauty of her lines, the straightness of her back as she flexed her legs into impossible positions struck a chord in my heart. It was something I wanted learn so badly, but never achieved.

There is so much more to practicing ballet than standing on a stage and performing. It takes the right type of body and many years of grueling physical conditioning, and even then you’re not guaranteed to be…