Ballerina Questions and Answers 1

Here is a Q&A section with a truly inspirational adult ballerina - Allie from @allie_on_pointe on Instagram!

Enjoy our new feature!

Copyright: Photo by Sarah Beth Sutter

- Please tell us briefly about yourself.

- How did you become interested in ballet?

- How do you feel you can use ballet to inspire people?

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

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

- Who do you look up to and why?

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

1. My name is Allie. I live in ohio in the USA. I am an audiologist so I deal with hearing and balance issues. 
2. I’ve been dancing since I was about 3 years old and danced through high school but I was poorly trained and didn’t really understand the possibilities so I quit. Over the next 10 years I took classes here and there but it was mostly when I started following a lot of dance blogs on instagram that I realized there was so much more to ballet than I ever realized and I wanted to learn it properly. So I started up again almost 3 years ago. 
3. I feel like restarting ballet at my age and not having the ideal body type or good feet can be really hard but I’ve also seen how it has inspired many others to take up ballet as well. 
4. Sometimes I have a hard time with motivation. Lately for example, financial situations and work schedules have been too much for me and I’ve had to quit taking classes but I like to watch dance movies/tv shows and check my insta for inspiration and do some at home barre workouts. 
5. Make sure you find a studio that’s a good fit for you and what you want. I’ve had experiences where the studio wasn’t inspiring me or teaching me properly so I know that’s a good sign I need change. 
6. One of my biggest inspirations is Melissa Gelfin from Cincinnati ballet. She’s been so nice when I’ve messaged her. She is such a gorgeous dancer and it’s great to be able to see her dance in person. I also really love Beckanne Sisk, Ali DeBona, Brittany DeGroft, Isabella Boyleston, misty copeland, Lauren lovette, Keenan Kampa and many others in sure I’m forgetting. I’m also really inspired by NatalieDanza and My.Ballet.Love as they are super talented adult dancers. 
7. There are so many things I wish I was told when I started such as proper technique, ways to stretch feet (I didn’t even know what sickling was!) and just things that would’ve helped me because now I have all these terrible habits I can’t seem to break. 

Let us know what you think and how this has inspired you by blog post or by email on:  dancegrace2@gmail.com

Love to all xxx