Today is a day where people across the country take time to express gratitude for the blessings in their lives; yet ballet dancers have a very different list than most. Maybe you’re grateful for that perfectly-broken-in pair of pointe shoes or the uplifting comment you received in class the other day…there’s always something to be grateful for.

So have a little pie (really, just a tiny sliver) and read on.

The Ballet Dancer’s Guide to Gratitude

Barre exercises, the solid foundation upon which everything else is built, one step at a time…and brisés and ballonnés, and all of those shining moments where we get to defy gravity and fly.

Adoring ballet fans everywhere…because without them everything we do would lose context and meaning.

Lyrical music that speaks to your soul, sinks into your bones and urges you to move your body in pleasing ways.

Lifelong gifts of ballet: respect for the body and innate understanding of the benefits of discipline and dedication. And there’s the added benefit of stellar posture.

Every musician, composer and conductor who adds their own special ingredient to the melodious mix of sounds that prompts us to dance.

Teachers and all people who have cared enough to nurture, guide and shape who you are today.

Dancers who came before us, who led by example, who inspired us to dare to dream of following in their footsteps.

All theaters– whether humble or swimmingly opulent–the places where magic happens for everyone who enters.

New ideas and the people who take the time to contemplate and take action. Without them we would never have had pancake tutus, pointe shoes, or ballet academies.

Choreographic geniuses, those masters who continually reinvent the dance landscape, guiding dancers to take quantum leaps into unexplored territory and keeping audiences inspired.

Experts who make our bodies strong and put us back together when we tear ourselves apart, from podiatrists and surgeons, to massage therapists, Pilates instructors and yoga teachers.

Reverence for dance as an art form, one of the highest human pursuits, and deepest gratitude for those who recognize and support the arts to make it all possible.

Happy Thanksgiving! May your day be bright and joyful.