Emily Wilkes is a sophomore at Elon University, a private university located in the Piedmont region of North Carolina. Emily was classically trained at the Academy of Movement and Music in Oak Park, Illinois. As Emily ties her pointe shoes, she thinks back on all the different types of dance she has taken since she started dancing twelve years ago; ballet and pointe were always her favorite.
Growing up as a dancer meant Emily has always been busy. She rushes from school to dance rehearsal, often getting dressed in the car and quickly stretching before dance class starts. After class Emily drives straight home to finish her homework, with the little energy she has left.
“Although I was often too busy to spend time with friends or relax after school, I never minded because all I ever wanted to do was dance.” - Emily Wilkes
Emily came into college with enthusiasm, drive, and the dream of being a professional dancer. From the start, Emily struggles with the intensive program and the long hours that accompany it. Her class schedule consists of rehearsals, technique classes, additional practices after class, and Elon’s core curriculum classes.
Emily looses sight of what her end goal is and decides to quit dance altogether, too afraid of how her failure will be received by her peers. Emily drops out of the dance program entirely, completely cutting ties with her teachers and classmates.
Without dance, Emily’s life lacks structure and instead of feeling relief from her new-found freedom, Emily feels empty. Again, she feels trapped by her choices.
After a single hour of practice, Emily experiences the familiar throbs of her swollen feet as she takes off her pointe shoes. Emily welcomes the pain as a reminder of when she first fell in love with pointe. In that moment, Emily realizes she cannot completely give up dance, and she decides to find a way to fit dance back into her life.