Playtimes HK Magazine Spring 2019 Issue | Page 56

education My goal is to remove the competitive and professional nature of ballet and make it accessible to everyone. me realise that as much as I love to dance, I do not want to live the life of a dancer.” She is now a certified personal trainer and is developing workouts that involve balletic movements. “My goal is to remove the competitive and professional nature of ballet and make it accessible to everyone.” The ballet world honours tradition and this can make it a very challenging environment at times. Judith Mackrell, a writer focussing on dance for The Guardian states, “Ballet, like sport, has reached a pitch of technical expertise that requires the most finely tuned of physical instruments. We’re accustomed to ballet dancers with a bare minimum of body fat, used to beautiful, supple bodies that can be stretched and torqued and angled to remarkable extremes.” These unhealthy and unrealistic expectations for ballerinas have really penetrated the culture, and are very difficult to overcome. Hanah advises, “It’s so important to keep a strong mind and focus on yourself, not what others think, or what the norm says.” Any ballerina will tell you that ballet teaches you a strong sense of discipline. Repeating the same exercises every day in order to formulate 54 www.playtimes.com.hk a strong foundation, long training sessions and respect for teachers is bound to form an incredibly disciplined environment. Hanah also says that time management is key. When juggling academics at school or university, it is absolutely essential to learn effective time management. “In primary school, I always did my homework while stretching before my ballet classes.” Hanah says this means she is now able to do a lot more than her peers. “On top of studying for school, I find time to go to ballet classes, running, I even go to yoga classes four times a week! Anything is possible if you learn how to be efficient and effective.” Is dance actually a sport? Hanah says, “A typical ballet is about 2.5-3 hours long. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been on stage jumping and turning for three hours straight, you still need to continue moving with grace, control and with a smile on your face. People don’t realise how much athleticism is involved in ballet.” Many argue that dance is an art form, not a sport, which isn’t incorrect. However, studies have shown that the physical demand placed on ballerinas measures up to that of other professional athletes. Hanah offers some advice to young people considering a career in ballet: “It’s not an easy path. Stay motivated, passionate and patient. But most importantly – don’t forget to enjoy dancing! I decided to adjust my career path, and step down from the road to becoming a ballerina. I did this because I felt that I was starting to hate ballet more and more. I rediscovered my passion for ballet after I had stepped back from the professional side of it and had started dancing again as an advanced hobby. I’ve found my perfect relationship with ballet, and now I look forward to dancing purely for myself!” Hanah is currently doing a double major in Business Information Systems and Computer Science at the University of Hong Kong and hopes to graduate in 2020. Her goal is to work as a personal trainer incorporating balletic movements into workout routines in order to make ballet more accessible. “I was inspired by friends telling me they wanted to start ballet because of the beautiful combination of grace and strength they see in ballerinas but they felt they were too old to start. My goal is to help girls and women who feel this way to be able to learn ballet at any age!”