A Ballerina’s Story

The Ballerinas

I belonged to a gang. We were an elite group of twelve. We went everywhere together, wore the same fashions, liked the same movies, jokes, people, and music. To become accepted, you had to undergo unmerciful criticism and harassment, be trained and groomed. We were intimidating, but we were a family.

The name of our gang was San Pedro City Ballet, and we were the Ballerinas. During the week, we came home from school, threw on tights and a leotard, put our hair in a bun, and were out the door to three ballet classes and then a rehearsal. On Saturdays we would wake up at eight o’clock, drag our weary feet to the dance studio and dance and rehearse until five o’clock. When that was over, we would put our swollen feet into regular street shoes and go out to eat…together, of course.

Belonging to my gang was the greatest experience I have ever had. While I have a strong, supportive family, the dance family I found at my studio taught me life’s lessons that my parents could never teach me. As a founding member of San Pedro City Ballet, a semiprofessional, non-profit dance company, I learned the tremendous amount of optimism, perseverance, faith, ruthlessness, and toughness that’s needed to build and nurture a dance company in a lower-class suburb of Los Angeles. I learned how involvement and commitment to a project one believes in can impact an entire community. And I learned how the fearless, dedicated leadership of our artistic directors, and the unwavering support of our families, turned my fellow ballerinas and me into a family. There was always controversy, there was always someone in trouble, and there was never enough money. We sacrificed for each other. I gave up a normal teenager’s social life. But taking part in creating a premier ballet company in the dance-deprived greater Los Angeles area made my heart leap. We were dancing for the whole world!

I was forced to leave with my family during my junior year. Withdrawal was overwhelming. There is no San Pedro City Ballet in Warner Robins, Georgia…no gang. But I took the best part of my gang with me. I learned how to face a challenge, to believe in opportunities that benefit the community, to value friendships. Nothing can ever replace San Pedro City Ballet or the people that became my best friends; but the lessons I learned while in a gang will help me through college and the rest of my life.

Becky Armor wrote this essay for her college entrance application.
The Story of San Pedro City Ballet
Artistic Directors of San Pedro City Ballet
San Pedro Ballet School where Becky Armor studied
San Pedro City Ballet Home Page

by Becky Armor