Narrative 2

Hours of classes. Hours of rehearsals. Buckets of tears. Buckets of sweat. Blistered toes. Bloody feet. Hurting feet. Strained muscles. Shaking legs. Weak arms. Desire to give up. Desire to continue.

Pain, sweat, tears, blood, all leading up to three hours of showing people. Showing everyone what I love, what I dedicate my life to. I strive to make an impression after countless hours of working until I could not possibly work anymore. Until my muscles give in and my toes can not take anymore. I kill myself everyday and wake up the next to kill myself again. I perfect my art for an unmeasurable amount of time in preparation for what? An evening performance of The Sleeping Beauty, Chroma, Don Quixote, Romeo & Juliet, or Giselle. As a corps danseuse, a soloist, or a principle. Three hours that make me feel like I'm on the top of the world. Like I could do anything.

My life is dedicated to what I love. If I didn't love it, I wouldn't do it. Wake up every morning, and each day is the same. Go to class, then rehearsal. Evening performance. Sleep, start over. We're lucky to get a vacation after a tour. Two weeks at most, of course, never more. But it is worth it. To feel that important. To feel that beautiful. To feel immortal. To feel young. To feel like someone other than yourself. To feel in love.

The characters I play, each so simple, yet so complex. One is a young girl in love, a forbidden love that is never to be. Another, a fireball on her wedding day. And yet another, a sweet peasant who dies of a falsely broken heart. Eager to show all their dimensions, all their characteristics, every last detail of their being, without speaking a single word. Portraying the most difficult people for an audience of critics who will nitpick my simplest mistakes. Their applause, their "bravo!"'s, their flowers, their curtain calls. I rely on them to better myself.

It is a treasure I hold deep in my heart. Taking my last bow for an audience cheering my name. Screaming for more. It feels amazing how one small girl, barely clearing five feet, from a small town can change so many lives. Make so many heads turn. Be an inspiration for so many people in only a short, sweet, simple time. It will never cease to amaze me, as long as I live. As long as I perform. As long as I dance. As long as I love. It is BALLET. My only life, my only love.