Whenever a dancer is recognized outside of their natural habitat (aka, the barre), they are faced with some really intense questions from the outside world. And I'm not talking about being asked about technique, future company options, hardest steps or favorite dancers. No siree, I'm talking about the questions us dancers strive to be asked. I can guarantee you've heard them all.
1. "Can you do the splits?"
For some unknown reason, "doing the splits" has become synonymous with "being a dancer." Most likely, yes, we can in fact do said splits, but our countless classes have not been spent with the goal of doing them. Some people are naturally able to do a split dancer or not, while some people no matter how much they stretch, can't seem to fully get there. And believe it or not, it isn't a representation of how good of a dancer the person is; I've known plenty of beautiful dancers who couldn't quite hit a full split.
2. "Yeah, I've seen 'So You Think You Can Dance.' You do all that stuff, right?"
"So You Think You Can Dance," "Dancing with the Stars," "Dance Moms," and all the other dance-focused reality shows out there are great to watch. The dancers on those shows are all incredibly talented, but they aren't the sole representation of all dancers. And in all honesty, I can't do half of what the performers on those shows do, but I'm still a dancer.
3. "You can't miss class? Seriously?"
No. The answer is no, and it most likely won't change. If it's "Nutcracker season," missing class isn't even an option, even if we lost an eye or fractured a rib (kidding, but not kidding). Most dancers, especially those in preprofessional programs or those wanting to have a career in the dance field take their classes very seriously, and missing class isn't going to get them anywhere except on the teacher's naughty list.
4. "You're a dancer, so you do this!"
It is always this move. Arms up over the head, rising up on the feet and sometimes a little twirl is even thrown in for the fun of it. Yes, we do that, sort of... but we do other things too that are possibly a tad more impressive and technical. But hey, the pink tutu-wearing girl twirling around herself is of course the symbol of all dancers, right?
5. "Does it hurt when you stand on your toes?"
Whenever someone asks me this, I immediately think of, "Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?" To both questions, part of me wants to say yes, but the other part of me wants to slap back a sassy "No, not really." Granted, no it isn't the most pleasant feeling putting all your weight on the tips of one or two of your toes, but we don't really feel it after a while. And no, it isn't because we start to enjoy it—it's because our toes go numb and we literally cannot feel it.
6. "Your hair is in a bun. That's how I know you dance."
Thank god that all those ballet classes perfecting my posture and time spent on stage enhancing my performance quality have gone unnoticed because my hair is wrapped up on the top of my head. Beside the fact that not all dancers wear their hair in a bun, how many people have you met that have put their hair in a bun who aren't dancers? The bun is a quite common hairstyle, worn in many different forms: the man bun, the messy bun, space buns and just normal buns for weddings, parties, everyday wear, etc. But rather than analyzing the bun on my head I probably put together last minute, it would be a better compliment if you noticed the other buns I spent countless dance classes learning to tighten. Pun intended.
