Gsu Essay
According to a study done by the University of Washington, the average ballet dancer incurs injuries at a rate of 61 percent, comparable to that of football players and wrestlers. Just as in sports, the pressure is on for dancers to recover quickly, or risk being replaced by a stronger performer. But as a four-year-old joining my very first ballet class, I did not know the stats. All I wanted was to wear a tutu and do twirls around the room. I loved the carefully coordinated steps to every piece of music, and as I grew up, dance slowly consumed my other hobbies. I believed that nothing would stop me from becoming a professional dancer.
When I was 17, I landed the lead role in my pre-professional dance company’s winter performance of The Nutcracker. This was my one chance to be noticed by the professional dance recruiters. I was already working out daily in the dance studio, but I upped my regiment to twice a day. Exhaustion was not an excuse because the most important thing in the world was to remain a competitive dancer. But on the first night of the show, I collided into another dancer. She had missed a step, and over-corrected, moving into the space where I was dancing. Our feet tangled, and we collapsed into a jumbled heap onstage. We fell, and I heard a sickening crunch as she fell bodily onto my ankle. As my fellow dancers lifted me off the stage, I knew that I would not be performing again that winter. Following surgery for a shattered ankle, the doctor told me that I would be out of commission for at least three to four months. Then he referred me to physical therapy sessions. I was devastated- I had already lost a lead role, but this meant that I would also miss the spring show and more opportunities to be seen by recruiters. My spirits were crushed. When I started physical therapy, my expectations for improvement were low. didn’t know what to expect, but being in a clinic and receiving physical therapy showed me a new side of medicine; rehabilitation.
When I was 17, I landed the lead role in my pre-professional dance company’s winter performance of The Nutcracker. This was my one chance to be noticed by the professional dance recruiters. I was already working out daily in the dance studio, but I upped my regiment to twice a day. Exhaustion was not an excuse because the most important thing in the world was to remain a competitive dancer. But on the first night of the show, I collided into another dancer. She had missed a step, and over-corrected, moving into the space where I was dancing. Our feet tangled, and we collapsed into a jumbled heap onstage. We fell, and I heard a sickening crunch as she fell bodily onto my ankle. As my fellow dancers lifted me off the stage, I knew that I would not be performing again that winter. Following surgery for a shattered ankle, the doctor told me that I would be out of commission for at least three to four months. Then he referred me to physical therapy sessions. I was devastated- I had already lost a lead role, but this meant that I would also miss the spring show and more opportunities to be seen by recruiters. My spirits were crushed. When I started physical therapy, my expectations for improvement were low. didn’t know what to expect, but being in a clinic and receiving physical therapy showed me a new side of medicine; rehabilitation.