Feeling the Floor: My First Ballet Class

One of my biggest challenges in dance has been learning to stay grounded. Maybe because I have flat feet, I’ve always struggled with stability and balance — and of course, that shows up in my dancing. It’s also something I think about in everyday life. As we get older, not having groundedness can be a real hazard. A small misstep could easily lead to a fall or injury.

So one of my long-term goals, in both dance and life, is to improve my sense of groundedness. My teacher suggested I try ballet lessons — which honestly felt strange to me at first. The styles I usually focus on are street and hip hop, so ballet was the last thing I imagined myself doing.

But a part of me was curious. I wanted to push myself, to really understand and experience what groundedness means. So, I signed up for an Absolute Beginners ballet workshop — with no expectations, no prep, and no idea what was waiting for me.

After I bought my new pair of ballet shoes, I tried walking in them at home. It honestly felt strange, almost like walking barefoot. And it dawned on me — I almost never walk barefoot these days. At home I always wear slippers, and outside it’s sneakers with thick soles (I’m petite, so the extra height is a bonus!). For years, I’ve been slightly disconnected from the ground without even realizing it.

Walking into the studio, I reminded myself not to overthink or over-prepare — I just wanted to experience it. The teacher started us with the basics: simple foot and hand positions. Then we moved on to sliding one foot along the floor, stretching it forward, to the side, and back. Another exercise had us lifting the foot slightly off the floor — again, forward, side, and back. We even traced half-circles with our toes, staying carefully connected to the ground beneath us.

The terms were all in French (I remembered a few, forgot most), but that didn’t matter. What struck me wasn’t the vocabulary — it was the feeling. Every exercise was about the connection between my feet and the floor. Slow, deliberate, and precise. As we went through the repeated motions, I made plenty of mistakes. On the surface, the movements seemed simple enough — but once I tried them over and over, I realized they weren’t so simple after all.

Take toe–ball–heel, for example. It sounds easy, right? But when I had to repeat it with precision, I noticed how much effort it took to place each part of my foot exactly where it should be. Paying attention to which part of the foot touched the floor — and when — demanded a new kind of focus.

Maybe this is what “feeling the floor” and being grounded is really about. I’m not entirely sure yet, but I hope to discover more in the upcoming classes.

My first ballet class turned out to be a really good experience. There weren’t any big surprises, but it definitely left me wanting to continue and learn more. Ballet feels like such an elegant art form, and it even brought out a softer, girlier side of me that I don’t usually get to explore in my street and hip hop classes.

It’s only the beginning, but I’m excited to see where this new path might take me — both in dance and in finding a deeper sense of groundedness.