I haven't taken class since 2019, ballet friend.

I tried barre about six months after my bike accident, and went a wee bit overboard...the penché didn't look too shabby, but my unprepared muscles and joints had a different opinion! A few health complications later, and suddenly it’d been more than five years since I'd danced a class just for me.

Teaching online has been more more accessible for life with a fainting disorder, and seeing my students' hard work on body awareness and movement skills blossom into freer dancing is wonderful, but I've been missing my own self expression of moving to music. So, when an opportunity to try out two wheelchair dance classes came up, I jumped (or rolled?) right on it.

I used to train and dance 30 hours a week. I'd spend hours in my pointe shoes, and sometimes felt like I lived backstage. I had plenty of tricks up my sleeve to support myself in all that dancing, and you'd better believe I used every one of them to have a great first (and second!) class back.

Here’s how I made a safe and fun return to ballet: