I started taking dance lessons when I was little. I did clogging for a long time and loved to perform. When I was 9 or so my mom took me to see the Nutcracker and after that I wanted to take ballet. I wanted to learn how to dance on my toes. I started taking ballet lessons when I was 10 which was actually pretty old to just be starting. There were girls in my class who were 4 or 5 so I felt a little out of place sometimes. But I really loved dancing. When I got to be a little older the ballet school I went to held auditions for the Nutcracker and I wanted to be in it so badly. It was for the parts at the beginning of the ballet, the party scene, but I didn't get a part. I was too tall to play the role of a little girl, but I was not advanced enough to play the role of one of the boys. I was devastated. But I kept going to class because I loved it. When I was fifteen the director of the ballet school met with my mom and me and told us they wanted me to move up a level. I was so excited because that meant that once a week I got to take a pointe class. I remember going to the store to get my first pair of pointe shoes, putting them on and standing on my toes for the first time. My first pointe class was amazing even though I came out of it with bleeding toes. As the years went on, though, I realized that being at that dance school was not going to give me opportunities to perform like I wanted. I wasn't the best dancer. I really had to work where it seemed other girls in my class had more natural talent. I quit taking classes my sophomore year of high school because of cheer leading. I would rather perform every week at a football game or in school assemblies than just dance during class. But I missed ballet, so when it was announced that Las Vegas Academy was going to open I auditioned. I went there for my junior year of high school. I had 3 hours of dance a day and during performances would also dance during lunch or after school at rehearsals. I was in the best shape ever and I loved performing. One of our performances I got to dance "en pointe" in a beautiful costume. I finally felt like a real ballerina. But I knew I was not cut out to be a dancer. I wasn't good enough or dedicated enough. I had fun in the lessons I took and the performances I did and that was enough for me. After high school I took ballet classes for fun and in college as well. And recently I came across a Ballet workout DVD that I love doing. My kids will watch me as I workout and tell me I am doing great and I dance so well. I love having them as my audience. I'm sure I'll never wear pointe shoes again and never get the chance to dance on a stage in a beautiful costume, but I still feel like a ballerina when I stand in front of the TV with my chair as my ballet barre and do the familiar exercises I used to do in class so long ago.
