“Determination Always Overpowers Obstacles” by Karyna

“Determination Always Overpowers Obstacles” by Karyna - June 2024 Scholarship Essay

When I first started training pre-professionally in classical ballet, I remember learning the basics of ballet, starting out with pliés and tendus. After unsuccessfully attempting a proper plié, in which my knees were supposed to be over my toes, hips turned out, and arches flat on the ground, I quickly realized that I lacked natural balletic qualities that many of the other girls possessed. I was not sure that I was going to like dance class because I felt that it was out of my comfort zone, but my parents persuaded me to stay and just try my best.

As I continued learning all of the different ballet steps and practicing combinations in my classes, I began to see more and more of my apparent “flaws;” my legs were bowed, meaning my knees were never correctly aligned, my Achilles tendons were uneven, making it difficult for me to plié with the proper symmetry, and my feet were two different sizes, making my torso tilt when I went up onto relevé. Additionally, I had an extreme lack of flexibility, so while my limber classmates stretched easily into their splits, it took me years to even be able to touch the floor.

At first, I blamed the world for creating me full of flaws; because the composition of my body was completely out of my control, I felt frustrated with what I was given, wondering if I would ever be as good at ballet as my naturally-talented classmates. However, ballet continued to grow as my biggest passion and I constantly craved the freeing feeling of performing on stage. Realizing that ballet was going to be a part of my life forever, I made the decision to work towards overcoming my obstacles.

I began following along to flexibility routines on YouTube each night until I had curated the perfect routine for me. Slowly but surely, I began to see results. During dance classes, I had a wider range of motion due to increased flexibility, lessening the prominence of my uneven Achilles tendons and my bow legs. I proudly saw fast improvement as a dancer, in both my technique and artistry.

However, stretching didn’t fix all of my problems; my shallow plié still makes certain steps, such as jumps and turns, quite difficult. I have found that I have to work twice as hard as anybody else to counteract the fact that my body is not naturally suited for classical ballet. Through dedication, I have never let these setbacks slow me down, but have instead channeled my frustration into working even harder. It was all of these limitations that actually fueled my passion to succeed at ballet even more.

My experience with the challenges of ballet has taught me that obstacles do not define me, and that if there is a will, there is a way. I have not let the world determine who I become, but have instead shaped myself into the person that I am today. Consequently, I have been met with a lot of success in the ballet world, such as performing leading roles and being accepted into distinguished college dance programs. I am currently pursuing a minor in dance and performing with the company at Bucknell University. I am thrilled to be able to study dance history and express myself through the artistic movements of contemporary dance. Learning that determination always overpowers obstacles will guide me throughout life, assisting me in my academic and occupational endeavors as well as in pursuit of my dance passion.