Some people go to church on Sundays. I go to ballet.
I don't mean that in a sacrilegious way, and I certainly don't mean to compare the two.
But after nearly twenty years of doing ballet, going to ballet on Sundays has become a ritual of sorts. It’s one of those things in my life that I don't really think about anymore. It’s simply what I do.
When I first started ballet, it was a choice to go. I would go when it fit into my schedule after my workdays, and certainly on Fridays as a way to wind down the week.
But after years of going, it’s not really a choice anymore. It has just become something that I do. And for the past several years, I’ve dedicated Sundays to ballet.
My husband doesn’t question it. He knows my schedule. We go grocery shopping on Saturdays. And then on Sundays, I go to ballet.
It's my ritual. I put together my dance bag the night before. I make sure I have my shoes together and my yoga mat placed by the door. I wake up early, get dressed for class, eat a little breakfast or pack it with me for the road, and drive to the studio.
It’s the studio I’ve known for years, a familiar and comforting place. I see the same people most weeks - my teacher and other dancers who I’ve come to know over the years.
We do the same warm-up on the floor. I take my usual spot at the back barre. And I do variations of the exercises I’ve done hundreds of times before. I take deep breaths as I focus on the movements. It’s a mindful practice, turning inward and reengaging with my body and breath. The whole routine is predictable and satisfying in that way.
There are many Sundays when I wake up tired and don’t want to go to ballet, but I don’t really negotiate with myself. I just go and make the best of the routine that I know, because ballet is part of the structure of my life.
Despite everything that has changed over the past two decades, ballet is still there. The basic movements are the same, and the sequence is the same. Pliés, tendus, dégagés, and so forth. Often the music is the same, and the pieces have become familiar over the years. This is the rhythm of every Sunday.
I’m not trying to become a professional dancer, so why go every Sunday for years?
Because I love doing ballet. I keep coming back to it over and over again not because it's an obligation, but because it's a ritual of my life.
The week will pull me every which way. But Sundays are mine. And on Sundays, I go to ballet.