Ballet is something that never really leaves you, even after you stop attending the classes. And the little quirks you pick up? Yeah, they never go away. Here are some signs that you may be a former ballet dancer!
1. Spotting other dancers
Have you ever been standing in line somewhere or talking to someone and you notice that they are standing in third position? In your head, you automatically peg them as a ballet dancer because you do the exact same thing. Or if you are in an exercise class, yoga especially, and realize that the person beside you points her feet perfectly whenever they leave the ground. You feel automatically connected to those people even though you have never talked to them, because of ballet.
2. Doing your hair
Sometimes you just need your hair out of your face, so what do you do? Naturally, you twist it into a tight bun in just a few seconds. Other people ask how you can make a bun so fast, and you try to explain that you have had years of practice putting your hair into tight, perfect buns. A skill that apparently not everyone has.
3. Being prepared
While packing for college you make sure to bring you leotard, tights, ballet shoes, pointe shoes, character shoes, and your massive collection of bobby pins, just in case you feel like dancing again. You know you will regret it if there is an opportunity to dance and you don't have your gear.
4. Sneaking off to dance
Although you may have sworn off taking another dance class, you still make sure to know where the dance studio on campus is, and what times no one is using it. Every once in a while you will get out your leotard and sneak of to the dance studio, even just to do barre exercises for fifteen minutes. Then, you put your street clothes back on and go on with your day like nothing happened.
5. Taking other kinds of dance classes
You find out about some kind of dance workshop on campus and you get excited because you haven't danced in forever. You go and find yourself being precise and hard on yourself like you were in a ballet class again. While everyone else is just having fun, you find yourself striving for perfection and trying to figure how the arms go on that one step.
6. Meeting other ex-ballet dancers
When you find out someone else used to do ballet (and not just when they were six), you automatically start to talk about all of the universal ballet memories. The conversation goes into "I used to be able to do x amount of fouettés" and "gran pas de chats are great but tours jetes were my favorite." You feel like you could talk to hours with this person who you barely know, just because of ballet.
7. Listening to classical music
Without fail, hearing any part of the Nutcracker music gets you pumped for Christmas. When any other ballet music comes on you instantly try to place what ballet it is from and then, go over the steps in your head.
8. Choreographing in your head
You know the moment when you hear a piece of music and you really want to dance, but you're in public and that would be weird. So you don't. Instead of busting a move right there you start to figure out how you would dance if you could, usually having a pretty solid piece of choreography for the chorus by the time the song has ended.
9. When people find out you did ballet
They usually say something along the lines of, "Oh yeah, I did ballet when I was six" and you lightly roll your eyes. You know that to them it may seem like something, but it just isn't the same as spending at least four hours at the studio a week for years.
10. Keeping up with your idols
You were understanding, yet slightly devastated when Julie Kent retired. Because you still know every word of Center Stage and you thought she was phenomenal and have followed her career ever since. You feel it like a personal attack. Then, you heard that Misty Copeland was promoted and you freaked the freak out.
Finally...
You may not be in dance classes anymore, but you definitely still do ballet. You will always be a dancer, you just may not be an active one. The world of ballet will always hold a special place in your heart..
