It was Tuesday, August 4,2015. My first ballet class started at four in the afternoon. As I walked into the studio, I could feel my new pointe shoes digging into my back through the mesh material of the side of my duffel bag. They were just itching to be used; however, my first ever Pointe class wouldn’t start until six o’clock. All throughout my first two ballet classes of the day, I couldn’t shake my nervousness. Thoughts of pointe shoes and dancing en pointe dominated my brain. I repeatedly lost count of the number of beats, and I was behind in the ballet combos the entire time. This did nothing to ease my excitability.
As the clock neared six, my excitement and anxiety grew. Almost every dancer dreams of being en pointe. It is a huge accomplishment for a ballet dancer. The only thing I was worried about was the fact that I’d only been taking ballet classes for a year. The other girls in my class have probably been taking ballet their whole entire lives. I built up my confidence by assuring myself that I wouldn’t have been allowed in this class if I wasn’t ready. After the clock struck six, I slipped on my toe pads and tied up my pointe shoes; then, I was ready to dance.
In that blissful, first class, I managed to do a double pirouette and echappes in fifth en pointe. It was the best class of my life. It turned out that I wasn’t behind in my class after all. I had an indescribable feeling of joy and accomplishment
throughout the entire class. I could feel my worries floating away, and in that hour, nothing was wrong. Just for that moment, I was free. To this day, I still love dancing en pointe. I love the feeling of nimbly walking on the very top of my toes. My first pointe class is something that I will always cherish.