Back to the Barre: Latinas Turning to Adult Ballet to Heal Their Relationship with Their Bodies
Nani Pacheco is a creative content creator, who has leveraged her love for ballet in social media, creating content for people that are interested in starting ballet as adults. Part of her content includes photos and videos in short and long format. Photo by Chrisianie “Nani” Pacheco.
Mimi Alas writes about her dream of returning to ballet after quitting by age nine due to insecurities about her body. What she found at 29 was that her story wasn't isolated.
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By Mimi Alas, @mimialasc
It is 7:30 p.m. in Miami. The ballet studio slowly begins to fill up until there are fifteen of us girls in the class, but the experience really begins the moment I walk into the academy. I see photos of dancers, ballet slippers, and young girls running back and forth, waiting for their parents to pick them up after their ballet classes. Watching them, it crosses my mind that, more than twenty years ago, I was one of them.
I arrive at the studio feeling a bit nervous, mostly because I don’t have a leotard or any ballet attire. It’s my first class; I wanted to see how it felt before fully committing. I look at the other women and, to my surprise, they appear to be my age or older. I see a variety of body types: tall, short, some curvy, others with smaller frames. There are no uniforms, yet I appreciate how everyone has dressed comfortably for class in their own way.
Those who seem more experienced begin to warm up and stretch. I simply watch. The instructor enters, a man in his thirties with the posture of a professional dancer, and kindly lets us know the class is about to start. I find a spot at the barre, though I admit a part of me is afraid, because until recently, whenever I imagined returning to ballet, one phrase would pop into my head:
“But I’m too old now; it’s a dream that will never come true.”
That was the phrase I used to repeat to myself whenever I encountered ballet in any form, whether watching a performance, meeting a dancer, or even just in casual conversation. Ballet was one of the first loves of my life. My introduction to it didn't happen in a theater or a studio, but in front of a screen, watching the movie “Center Stage.”
I started taking classes when I was seven. And although I loved it, I never quite felt like I belonged at that academy. I remember noticing, even at a young age, that some girls took up more space than others: the slim ones, those wearing the prettiest shoes or outfits, or those who seemed to share a similar social standing with the teachers.
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Mimi Alas on her first ballet show at 7 years old.
And then there was me.
At seven years old, I was a lover of pop culture and pop music, with my fuchsia leotard, black shoes, and a little belly. I began to feel there was something wrong with me. I didn't fit in, I had no friends, and above all, I felt my body was different from everyone else's.
From the time I quit the discipline at age nine until 20 years later, I often wondered what might have happened had I chosen to continue. I frequently linked this to my body, thinking that perhaps if I had kept going, I would like my body more as an adult. For years, going to shopping malls or public spaces during the Christmas season was torture for me; there were always ballet performances, and watching them reminded me of everything I never became.
Everything changed when I was 29 and going through a personal process of deconstruction, learning to stop measuring my worth by male validation, reconnecting with what made me happy as a child, and deciding to do things that brought me joy. That is how I found adult ballet classes at the Miami City Ballet.
Adult ballet classes in Miami. Photo: Mimi Alas
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My story is not unique. In recent years, ballet for adults has ceased to be a rarity; instead, it has become a gateway to the discipline for women who are not seeking a professional dance career, but rather a new relationship with the art form, their bodies, and movement.
According to Cameron Basden, Executive Director of the Miami City Ballet School, many women come to these classes looking for more than just a physical workout. In ballet, they have found a space for creativity, artistic expression, balance, and coordination, as well as a way to improve their emotional well-being. The academy’s open classes attract everyone from individuals who have never set foot in a dance studio to former professional dancers looking to reconnect with the discipline from a different perspective.
One of my fears when starting classes was my body. Although I am a slim woman, since childhood I had felt that I would look ridiculous doing ballet. However, Basden notes that at the Miami City Ballet School, “there is no body stereotype we are trying to fit into the studio. The studio is truly open to anyone who wishes to experiment.” She adds that the classes are designed and positioned to accommodate any age, skill level, or background, with no prerequisites needed.
Beginner/Intermediate Adult ballet classes at Miami City Ballet. Photo by Mimi Alas
What I found at the academy, other women have found in different studios and cities.
For Chrisianie “Nani” Pacheco, that journey began at age 18 in Venezuela with her first ballet class for adults, and it took on a new form when she returned to it at 24 at a different studio in Miami.
Pacheco also came to ballet with insecurities about her body. Coming from a cultural background that prized a voluptuous, curvy figure, her thinness made her feel out of place. Over time, practicing ballet taught her to value her body, not for how it looked, but for everything it was capable of doing: becoming more flexible and stronger, and learning to enjoy every stage of the process.
For her, practicing ballet allows her to keep discovering her capabilities; she does not pursue it to join a professional company, though she does not rule out the possibility of participating in non-traditional performance opportunities.
For other women, adult ballet has offered the chance to experience things they missed out on as children. This was the case for Fernanda Figueroa, 27, from Austin, Texas;.Adult ballet has not only allowed her to improve her relationship with her body but also to create special memories with her parents. “My mom bought me my first pair of pointe shoes, and I think that connected both of us even more. It was something we didn’t do when I was a child, but we were able to do even though I’m an adult woman,” she says.
Fernanda Figueroa is a journalist by profession, but she has found in ballet, more than just a hobby, an activity that has allowed her to stay active, work on her physique, and have unforgettable experiences. Photo by Fernanda Figueroa.
“My mom bought me my first pair of pointe shoes, and I think that connected both of us even more. It was something we didn’t do when I was a child, but we were able to do even though I’m an adult woman.”
— Fernanda Figueroa, ballet dancer
The opportunity to find something deeper than technique is also part of what Maca Giménez, a principal dancer with the Miami City Ballet and an instructor, identifies as one of the gifts of adult ballet. “I feel fulfilled and grateful. It’s the same with ballet: there is technique, there is discipline, and there are days when the body doesn’t respond the same way, because the body isn’t a machine. But when you’re holding onto the barre, you find community in your class, among your fellow dancers and the teachers guiding you. Combined with the music, it’s a truly special way to feel fulfilled,” Giménez says.
That sense of fulfillment began to make sense when I realized that returning to ballet as an adult was also a way of reclaiming my own story: that of the girl who felt she didn’t belong, and that of a woman who has found a place of her own in ballet. A space where she feels proud of who she is, how she looks, her progress, and the community she has built around herself.
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Mimi Alas is a Salvadoran entertainment journalist, writer, content producer, and on-camera talent based in Miami. She has built her career telling stories about music and pop culture through interviews, coverage, digital content, and on-camera work, with a special focus on the entertainment industry and the Latino community. @mimialasc