Everyone always makes the wrong assumption that ballerinas and dancers have to look a certain way. But one teenager smashed that body stereotypes to bits last year. It all started when a video popped up of a 15-year-old named Lizzy Howell doing an impressive ballet dance. And let’s just say that this young lady is a force to be reckoned with on the dance floor. No wonder her video went viral. But it did so much more than that. A year later, the video is still wowing viewers and folks in the dance community, but the teen doesn’t get what the hype is all about.The now, 17-year-old may not come in the shape and size most people expect, but she’s proven that her ballet skills are as spot on as anyone else. But that doesn’t surprise anyone who truly knows Howell. She wanted to dance ever since she was five.
If anyone has any doubt that she can twirl on the dance floor, then they need to see this. Howell is an amazing and inspirational dancer who has proven that you should never ever judge a book by its cover.
View this post on Instagram turning monday¿ #ballet#turn#balletdancer#dancer#foutte A post shared by Lizzy Howell (@lizzy.dances) on Nov 21, 2016 at 4:02pm PST
Aside from dancing, she’s also done other things like swimming and soccer. But if she had to choose a favorite, it would always be dancing. And who could blame her? When she’s upset or sad, dancing cheers her right up.
She practices ballet and tap twice a week, and then does modern, jazz, lyrical and contemporary. Sometimes she has to do private solo rehearsals or spend the entire weekend at dance events, but it’s worth it.
She considers ballet to be the foundation of everything in dance, so there’s no way around it. Fortunately, everyone’s always busy doing their own thing, so no one is watching what she’s doing. This makes her happy and allows her to simply let go and be herself.
She once did a move where she jumped and landed on her knees. She wasn’t sure she could do it at first. She even jokingly told her teacher to plan her funeral. Fortunately, he didn’t have to. And she’s proven herself to be a capable young dancer over the years, and it’s all thanks to her disciplined mind.
Howell recalls one time when she was dancing in memory of her mother. She had a photo of her and danced with it. It was so emotional she messed up one of her performances. But the following year, she picked something less emotional, and it all worked out.
Don’t get her wrong. She thinks it’s amazing that she gets to represent a level of diversity in the dance community. But from her perspective, there shouldn’t be a need for diversity because everyone deserves to be treated equal, regardless of the size or shape of their body.
