by Julia Bluhm

Ballet. Ballerina.

When you hear one of these words, here’s what you might picture: A little girl with her hair slicked back in a bun, wearing a light pink tutu, cute little pink slippers, a plastic tiara and a big smile from ear to ear. Or maybe if you’ve recently seen the film “Black Swan,” you think of a crazed, bulimic girl with a long neck, long legs, and an insane look haunting her eyes. You’d probably think ballerinas would do anything to get the biggest role, to be famous, and be on the biggest stages of the world. You’d also probably think they count every calorie and fat gram in a tablespoon of ranch dressing and a bowl of lettuce. Think again.

Not all ballet dancers are the exact replica of what you see when you type, “Ballerina” into Google. There are dancers who have fuller figures and are confident and shining from every pore. Most of these hard working young women are nowhere near as crazy as the character Natalie Portman portrays in that insane ballet thriller.

Thanks to “Black Swan,” people have really invented a stereotype that ballerinas want to be the best so badly they’ll go absolutely insane while trying to get there. Sure, a ballerina’s life is hard. Like really, really, really hard. But it is hard work. We rehearse for hours on end–often 6 days a week–and tear up our feet in a mess of blisters and calluses because we love it. No, not the blisters–we love ballet! It’s like part of us, part of our lives, and we can’t give it up. That takes a lot of hard work, dedication and determination.

There are also plenty of people who just do ballet because it’s fun, and they don’t care how their dancing looks or what parts they get. It’s not just Barbie who does ballet, or just cute little four-year olds. Ballet dancers come in all different shapes, colors, and personalities, male and female, short and tall.

Sure, the ballerinas we usually see have slim bodies and toned muscles, but not every dancer is like that. It also doesn’t mean we have an eating disorder if we fit into that category. Traditionally, ballet dancers are supposed to be thin, and many companies only want thin dancers. If you ask me, I think it’s sort of sad and not very creative. However, it’s the same rules that say all models are supposed to be thin and tall, and football players are supposed to be humongous. It comes with the job description. But plenty of ballerinas still eat Oreos and potato chips and big bowls of spaghetti. And we enjoy it. A lot.

So before you judge a ballerina, walk a day in their slippers. You may not walk very far.