The following story was written by Isabella Costa as part of the Journalism Foundations first semester exam. These are the first profiles these students have written.  

Watching the older girls dance with such confidence and grace, she couldn’t help but feel like she was witnessing a glimpse of her own future.

“When I would watch the older girls dances when I was just starting it made me want to try hard to be able to perform like them one day,” junior Victoria Lebedyev said. “Even to this day, I can still remember that moment.”

Ever since then, she has had a huge passion for ballet. She has been working hard for years to improve her abilities and aspires to reach the skill of those she admires.

“I love that when I’m dancing it allows me to express myself in ways I usually wouldn’t while performing,” Lebedyev said.  “Ballet is able to leave such a huge impact on the audience and I’ve felt this before from watching myself.”

However, like many dancers, her love for ballet has not come without struggles.

“There were times when I faced serious injuries or when the costs of ballet became overwhelming, adding a lot of pressure on me and my family,” Lebedyev said. “There were moments when I wondered if it was really worth it to continue, especially because of the injuries I had to push through.”

Despite these struggles, Lebedyev has been continuing her ballet career to do what she loves.

“One day, I would love to perform ‘Swan Lake’—it’s probably my favorite ballet,” Lebedyev said. “I just love how the story and emotions are expressed through the performance, it just really moves me when I watch it.”

The skills she has acquired to succeed in ballet have helped her in other areas of life as well.

“When you’re out there performing over time you’ll start to gain more confidence in yourself and that can just help with simple things like [social] interactions,” Lebedyev said. “Doing ballet makes me stay active by making me go to the gym and exercising regularly. It’s helped me stay healthy and strong.” 

She reflects on the benefits and lessons ballet has taught her over the years.

“Ballet has shown me how to have more confidence in myself that might be hard to learn without it,” Lebedyev said. “It’s given me the ability to keep going even when it seems difficult to.”

As she looks at the future, Lebedyev hopes to leave a lasting impact on others through her performances.

“I hope that when I perform, I can inspire others the way I was inspired,” Lebedyev said. “I want them to feel the love and passion I have for ballet in every performance I give.”