People who didn’t grow up dancing might not understand. They might think that dance instructors teach nothing more than choreography, technique, and how to apply stage makeup, but it runs so much deeper than that.

I, and I’m sure many others that spent the majority of their spare time in grade school training in dance, learned so much from my dance teachers; both inside and outside of the studio. I most certainly would not be the woman I am today without them.

Thank you for teaching me that mistakes are okay.

My dance teachers know better than anyone that I am the world’s biggest perfectionist. For approximately my first ten years or so of dancing, it was all or nothing; if I couldn’t hit a double pirouette or do a perfect jeté, then I didn’t want to do it at all. Many tears were shed about my lack of perfection in dance and everything else in life, but they taught me that perfection is unattainable. They showed me that attempting a double piqué turn and falling flat on my face is much more important than perfectly executing a single piqué turn – mistakes are one of the best learning methods and are a tremendous way to help people grow.

Thank you for pushing me to my limits.

That being said, they also taught me to always give 110% into everything. They definitely pushed me to my limits by making me stay in a backbend or a split for about thirty seconds longer than I thought I could, but this only made me stronger, both physically and mentally. I also can’t thank you enough for making sure that I was the best possible version of myself; you always made sure that I didn’t compare myself to anyone else in the class and only focused on reaching my personal goals and bettering myself.

Thank you for helping me break out of my shell.

My naturally shy personality, extreme care of what other people think of me, and focus on perfectionism made for a very timid dancer. I could get away with it to some extent when I was just taking ballet classes, but after I went to a summer intensive and took a variety of classes in other dance genres, it got a lot harder to hide behind my reserved personality. Let me tell you, attempting to be timid in a Martha Graham modern class is absolutely impossible.

Thank you for helping me find something to be passionate about.

After this, I realized that succeeding in ballet while being timid and reserved is also impossible. This is when my passion for the art form began to truly grow. I finally began to understand that even though ballet is essentially the same no matter where you go, each dancer can bring their own sense of self to a piece, and this where the beauty of ballet comes in. No one wants to watch the Sugarplum Fairy variation if the dancer doesn’t have passion, energy, and drive. They taught me that dancing is so much more than getting the choreography perfectly; it’s about putting everything you have into the dance, even if it is just a plié exercise at the barre. As Martha Graham said, “Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion.” Even though I may not be dancing for a career and am not even dancing more than a few times a week, I will always have an inexplicable passion and love for this art form.

Thank you for teaching me that taking care of my body is important.

My dance teachers taught me that taking care of my body is crucial. They stressed the importance of stretching, yoga, and strength exercises. They taught us that eating healthy is important, but even more importantly, that we shouldn’t starve ourselves. In dancing, the body is the tool used for art and expression, so taking care of it is incredibly important.

Thank you for making me stand at the barre in agony for hours on end.

Some people might wonder why I would ever thank anyone for making me stand at a barre with my leg tied to a rope for an hour and a half straight, doing too many spring relevés on pointe to count, or struggling through a ten minute rond de jambe combination, but this taught me perseverance. Complaining about the exercises wasn’t going to change anything, so I learned to just keep going and constantly reminding myself of the end result. How much can THIS lesson be applied to college?

Thank you for teaching me the importance of working well with others.

The Flowers piece from the Nutcracker and the Coda from Sleeping Beauty can definitely not be done successfully without the focus and hard work from every dancer in the piece. Being part of a ballet corps requires the willingness to work with every other member to create the best piece of art possible.

Finally, thank you for shaping me into the woman I am today.

Thank you for teaching me to have the utmost respect for myself and others. Thank you for teaching me the importance of dedication, drive, and discipline in everything that I do. Quite honestly, I couldn’t fit everything you’ve taught me about dance, myself, and the world around me in a letter like this. So I’ll sum it up by simply thanking you for absolutely everything you have done for me and all of the other girls that have had the fortune of going through your rigorous training.