Ballerina Questions and Answers 2

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Another Q&A section with this wonderful adult ballerina - Engy from @engyelshazlyy on Instagram!

Just editing the answers gave me encouragement to follow my dance dreams. Sometimes what we think is a hindrance is what makes us unique and makes us stand out from the crowd.
Enjoy!

1. Please tell us briefly about yourself.

I started practising synchronised swimming when I was 10 years old, I continued to practice it for many years. 

At that time I was dreaming about ballet, but people told me ‘you are too old to practice ballet’, ‘you should have done that when you were 4 years old’. I continued to dream about it though. I was going to the opera to watch different ballet shows at the time.

I went to college then graduated from a faculty of english literature and then joined a job as customer service representative. I then progressed to team leader and finally a senior officer in a leasing company. I decided to quit that job in 2015.

But at the age of 27, it was in 2013, I found a ballet school in Cairo that was offering ballet classes for adults. I was able to join.

I thought that my hijab would be a barrier but they told me that it's not, because they have classes for girls only. I felt so happy that my dream came true and I had started my ballet classes. My teacher was the first principal of the Cairo opera house.

In 2014 I joined the Russian cultural center in Cairo with a Russian teacher. She told me that I can perform on stage with my hijab. It was a surprise for me. My big dream came true. I performed twice on stage.

Now I'm an assistant ballet teacher. I don’t have enough knowledge for me to be a teacher but I was looking to be an assistant to some professional teachers in order to learn.

2. What is it like doing ballet in your country?

Actually in my country we have one of the oldest opera houses, it's the Cairo opera house. So ballet is a familiar thing to the people. We have a lot of ballerinas and we also have the high institute of ballet in Egypt.

3. How did you become interested in ballet?

I have been interested in ballet since I was 10 years old,  because its my dream.

4. How do you keep yourself motivated when situations or people get you down?

I always get negative and positive comments, I get motivated by both. When people criticize you, it means that you have an effect. So I don't care about the negative ones.

5. What tips can you give to people doing ballet or wanting to start ballet/dancing?

My tips to people are to be patient and strong. Ballet is not easy and they must do it with passion too. Work on themselves at home-do stretching and practice as well.

6.  Who do you look up to and why?

I look up to Misty Coopland because she started ballet at the age of 13 and a lot of ballet companies rejected her in the beginning. They told her that her body wasn’t good for ballet as she started late, but now she is the first principal of the American Ballet Theatre.

7.  What do you wish you were given as advice when you started dancing?

I wish that I had been given advice to study ballet as an academic subject, not only dancing in class or going to class every week.

Let us know what you think and how this has inspired you by blog post or by email on:  dancegrace2@gmail.com. Get in touch if you would like to be featured or know of someone.

Love to all xxx

Copyright: Not my image, used with permission by subject