Accepting Compliments

It’s so difficult to accept compliments as a dancer.

Last Friday as we were getting changed after class, two girls told me I was a talented dancer. This threw me because I know that if the work I produce looks half-decent, it’s only because I have been taught well. I’m not being modest; it’s just the truth.

However, the girls thought otherwise; I think they thought I was being modest. But maybe whether I’m right or they were right doesn’t matter. I know every dancer has classes where they feel they could have done so much better. So their comments gave me a boost and I felt better about my work.

Classical ballet is so hard because the goal posts keep moving; you’re always reaching for the next thing. The aim is to keep improving and there’s never a point where you feel, ‘I can just relax now’. But I like to think that this proves that the girls’ comments were correct; you can’t possibly judge the quality of your dancing yourself.

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