Ballerina

• Olivia Treeby, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2015

In agony, she removed her pointe shoes from her feet that were covered in blisters. As she stood up and reached for her slippers she wondered if she was really built for this activity. Her coach came in the room and saw her emotion, immediately sensing something was wrong. He listened silently before making her put her pointe shoes back on and perform painful pirouettes. Her coach explained that all ballerinas go through this and if she is to become an amazing dancer, she must work through the pain and never give up on her dream of becoming a professional ballet dancer.

The next day she came back to her studio. She practised and practised until her routine was perfect, her coach watching from the shadows. Suddenly she broke into tears and fell to the hard wooden floor. Her ankles were aching and her arms were so sore, the pain was excruciating. Her coach told her to take a break.

A week later, her ankles were still painful. It turned out that she had broken her ankle and wasn’t able to dance for at least another six weeks. Her dreams were crushed and she felt as if her life was over. Her initial anger was replaced by sadness and despair. She returned to the studio, broken and told her coach. Her coach was destroyed. He thought that she would be successful but this was going to set her training back for a long time.

Every day she returned to the studio, watching the hours and days pass by. Although her heart ached, the longing to dance again grew stronger.

After six long weeks, she pulled on her pointe shoes once more but memories of her past filled her head. She fought with them as she stood up. With grace, she performed her whole routine perfectly, unaware that her coach had invited an agent to watch.

Her first professional assignment was agreed upon and her career had begun.