“Ballet is not just movement, not simply abstract. It is something very beautiful. Sometimes there is a feeling in the movement that makes me want to cry.” – Nina Ananiashvili, The Ballet Book.

Being a ballerina and wearing tutus is every little girl’s dream. One of them was Ela Bjork, the girl with so many successes and so many future plans. Bjork was four years old when she started dancing, and has continued for 12 years. 12 years of experiences, performances, hard work, and good and bad days.

“I love to perform for people and the discipline that it takes to become a good dancer. I love how no matter how hard you work, there is always something to improve on,” Bjork says.

Bjork is not the only one in her family who is a dancer. Everything started so many years ago, like a tradition. Her grandma was a dancer, same as her mom. “It is fun that I get to share my dancing with them!”  She is trying to improve, to be a better version of herself for every performance. It takes time and hard work, but the main thing that it gives is the feeling of pride, passion, and happiness that she gets to share with her ballet friends. “They are the most supportive people in my life and I love them so much,” says Bjork.

Everyone has a person who inspires them and so does Bjork. Serkan, her ballet teacher, is the man who plays a big role in her life. She said that Serkan is the example of hard work for her. “He has been through so much in his life, yet he never gave up and made his life full of success.”

As a ballerina, her dream performance would be a lead role in a classical ballet like Swan lake. She does not spare any motivation to make her dreams come true, dreams such as being a dance doctor for the New York City Ballet or for the American Ballet Theater. She wants to be a doctor and at the same time continue dancing in college. “I plan on dancing in college and for however long my body can handle it afterwards!” she says.

It is hard, tough, and painful, but that is part of the reason why Bjork loves dancing and encourages the next generation to be in ballet. “Keep going, even when it is hard and it is not something that everyone around you is doing. Prove to yourself that you are strong and special.”

The key to being successful is to love what you are doing. “If you don’t love it, then there is no point in doing it.”

As the famous dancers say, “If you stumble, if you feel, make it part of the dance!”, this is exactly what Bjork does!