This spring I decided something had to change. I needed to experiment with something new, something I had never tried before. When it comes to ballet, the public opinion seems to be that practising should be started at the earliest age possible, but I had yet to start despite the fact that I had always wanted to. Therefore, at the mature age of 21, I decided to fulfill my childhood dream. I learnt a lot from this experience: it taught me about self-confidence and showed me how many positive effects a new hobby can have on your life. So, I decided to write about my experience to encourage you all to refresh your lives with something new. I’m not only talking about ballet, it can be anything!
The first reason why I engaged in starting a new hobby was my desire to break the rules and surprise myself. Although 21 is not very old, I had already accepted that I would never be able to put my first pair of ballet shoes on. I started to question this when I discovered one of my closest friends had started to dance as well. That was the breaking point for me to take part in this adventure, because I had no more excuses to not to follow my dream. When I put on those rose-colored soft ballet slippers, I felt very delighted about starting this new adventure.
As I took part in my first ballet class, everyone there seemed to have something in common: we all were quite ordinary looking adults of different ages and different body shapes but nevertheless very excited about starting this new hobby with a spark in our eye. It’s not very likely that any of us will ever become professional ballet dancers, but that will never take away the pleasure of dancing and the attempt to perform all the positions with perfect precision and purity. When the CD-player belted out the first classical piano melody and the music filled the dance studio, I felt an unintentional and happy smile suddenly cover my face.
Already during my first class, I was completely submerged in the world of dance. Ballet is an excellent way to forget about all stress and worries, since four out of five of the senses will be occupied: you have to check your posture in the mirror, you aim to sustain your balance while holding your hands in the right way, and you feel the floor under your toes while you perform the battement développé. It might sound easy, but you need a lot of determination to control your body. It’s a good feeling to give your brain an endorphin rush and build some new neurone connections after a long day of studying and sitting passively in class. No wonder Thursday became immediately my favourite day of the week!
But ballet is not only healthy for your brain, it also has benefits for your physical health. I can feel my calves getting stronger and all in all, my flexibility is slowly increasing. And even more than that, I can concretely see myself making progress in performing new movements. Ballet is also doing good for my spine and my posture is getting better. Not to mention my ankles that are a lot stronger than in the beginning. This kind of physical progress is very rewarding and impossible to deny.
Starting ballet as a university student has given me a way to relax and stimulate my brain while improving my physical health. Additionally it has given me more self-confidence when it comes to stepping out of my comfort zone. I have also learnt to not make any more excuses when I really want to try new things. Since I started ballet, I have also tried bouldering and I was really surprised by how much fun it was, although I thought I’d be too scared to climb without any equipment.
As Sydney J. Harris once said; “Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.”