- Only realising the tip of the bobby has come off when you try to put it in your bun and it rips your hair out.
- Forgetting your skirt and having to take class feeling naked.
- Telling people you’re a dancer/ training to be a dancer and they reply with “Oh, like a dance teacher?”
- Thinking about lunch while the teacher sets the combination then being asked to demonstrate.
- Doing something badly and having the teacher/ director have someone 5 years younger than you show everyone how to do it properly.
- Getting your bun net caught in a zip and ripping a big hole in it.
- Being told in front of everyone that you need to “lengthen” and having to act OK with it.
- Getting your period and ruining a pair of brand new tights.
- Mixing up your pointe shoes and ending up with one shoe more broken than the other.
- Getting a hole in your ballet tights that strangles your toe.
- Getting asked what you do for your real job.
- Having to turn down any social activities happening on a Saturday because the dancer’s weekend only consists of Sunday.
- Or going out on a Friday night anyway and waking up on Saturday morning for class regretting your whole life.
- Automatically picking your leotard out of your butt without thinking in an important situation and being called out for it.
- Seeing your costume for the show and realising you’ll be wearing a lime green unitard with matching swimming cap.
- Telling people you’re a dancer and having them ask you if it’s like Black Swan.
- Or telling you that they did ballet when they were younger and probably would have been a professional if it wasn’t for X/Y/Z because thy did “pointe work and everything”
- Seeing photos online of people barely balancing on rock-hard pointe shoes with the ribbons tied in a bow at the front of the leg…
- …especially when it’s in an ad campaign
- Seeing videos online of 9 year old girls who can dance a variation better than you
- Your teacher saying “one more time” and knowing you’ll be running it at least three more times
- When tech rehearsal is approaching 9pm and you’re not even halfway through yet, knowing you’ll be there until the middle of the night
- Your well-meaning other half doing the washing and putting your handwash-only leos in the machine on a regular cycle
- Or realising too late you haven’t done laundry and having to wear the weird unitard that gives you cameltoe because there aren’t any clean tights
- Having a bad bun day
- Not getting to the studio in time to warm up and you only have yourself to blame
- Feeling a niggling pain come on 2 days before an audition or performance and trying to convince yourself it’s nothing
- Getting cut from an audition during barre
- Coming back after break having intended to stay in shape but you actually did nothing and wanting to die
- When the person mirroring you on the other side of the stage messes up and you get the blame
- Turning up to class in the same leo as the girl with the perfect bod
Hope you enjoyed!
Jessica x