Keeping in Touch with My Prima Ballerina

I have been dancing since I was four years old. It was one of many activities I was enrolled in, but for me, it was the only one I wanted to keep on doing. I loved everything about it. The cute baby pink tutus, the beautiful music, the sisterly bond I had with each one of my dance mates; it kept me enraptured and passionate about dance.  

I started competing when I was six and thought about professionally pursuing dance when I was twelve. When I was performing in front of hundreds of people with huge stage lights on me, that’s where I felt the most comfortable and the most at ease to be myself. I loved teaching others dance and choreographing original pieces to songs I connected with. 

I kept it up throughout high school, although I had a different aspiration by then: medicine. I stopped competing and leaned a lot more into classical ballet and polishing my technique. When I began university, I was lucky to have such a well-supported dance society where I made tons of lifelong friends. These were all people who danced recreationally and yet continued to be so passionate about it. I had finally found the right balance of how much I should focus on dance and where it belonged in my life. 

As I started work as a Foundation doctor, it became harder to continue to incorporate dance into my life. The hours made it difficult to be consistent and the exhaustion from just finishing a day of work did not motivate me as much to go. Even though I was fortunate enough to find a dance studio nearby, I didn’t go as often as I should have. 

However, I quickly realized how integrated dance was to my daily lifestyle and ultimate happiness. It is so important to me to be able to express myself in that way, that when I denied myself an outlet to do so, it impacted my mental and physical health significantly.  

How do I keep dance in my life now? I try to go as often as I can to my weekly local ballet class. I find pop-up workshops in other dance styles when my schedule isn’t as predictable. I book empty studio spaces where possible to stretch and practice technique. I go out with friends to dance-themed fitness classes.  

As difficult as it is to keep it up on top of a full-time job, I needed to keep dancing. I cannot stress enough how important it is to keep up hobbies and interests you loved outside of medicine as you continue to progress in your career as a doctor. You will continue to need outlets to express yourself and check in on your mental and physical health.  

I love dancing and I keep doing it because I experience a world outside of medicine. I meet new people and am able to bond with them about something different. I can express myself artistically as well as keep myself in shape. There’s nothing like the feeling I get when I am dancing – I am just myself. 

Victoria Chang

F2, North West of England Foundation School