Shoulders back, stomach in, legs straight, point toes and most importantly, breathe.

These thoughts  run through my mind as I prepare myself for ballet class by securing my hair in a bun, pulling on my tights, putting on my leotard and strapping on my ballet slippers.

Whether a beginner at ballet or an experienced dancer, all ballet dancers must stay focused and not let their mind wander onto a new path.

I must learn to discipline myself, therefore I must follow every rule and keep them on my mind at all times.

I am easily distracted by even the simplest of objects. It does not help there is a wall full of mirrors at the front of the dance studio.

The mirrors that are there to help me improve can also be my worst enemy when trying to keep my focus. I find myself trying not to always look at the mirror, and instead focus on keeping my body in the correct position.

The teacher stands off to the side with a view of the whole studio, waiting for someone to make a mistake.

The moment I allow my mind to drift off into space, making a mistake seen by everyone, the teacher calls my name with a correction following closely behind. Although intimidating at first, I must accept and remember the correction.

While dancing, I need to focus not only on myself, but on the entire class.

Whether the correction is for the whole class, or just one dancer, the other dancers watch and listen attentively in hopes they do not make the same mistake later on.

One person’s mistake is a mistake to the whole class. Everyone is expected to apply the correction.

Any type of turn requires more work than the average tendu, which is a move that requires brushing the foot from any position, strengthening the leg and pointing the toe.

During turns, the dancer has to spot, turn the head rapidly and have the eyes focused on a point, in order to not get dizzy.

Turns are not my strong suit because I tend to skip over spotting, resulting in getting dizzy and having the whole room feel as if it is spinning.

During a performance, a ballet dancer’s costume has rhinestones, sequins and sparkles. These costumes add an enormous burden on top of the list I already have in my mind.

Ballet has taught me it is easy to get overwhelmed and distracted by all the thoughts within the mind. No matter how hard I try to get rid of them, they keep coming back to taunt me, reminding me these thoughts are not optional.

Learning how to balance all these ideas at once and staying focused is crucial to being the ballerina who doesn’t trip over her own two feet while trying to do a simple tendu.

One wrong move, one distracted moment, and the graceful ballet dancer disappears.