Some kids want to be a fire fighter, or a police officer, or an astronaut when they grow up. But 13-year-old Adrienne Kerr always wanted to be a ballerina, as far back as she can remember. And she's a kid who really works hard at fulfilling her dream, Here's what she shared with the Journal:
Dance makes me light up inside. It's way to express my feelings. It's beauty. It's just something that I really love to do.
I started taking dancing lessons at age three. I liked it so much that I didn't want to stop. Eventually I started taking more classes, and I was invited to join a local dance company. But it wasn't until I was nine years old that I really said, "OK, I'm gonna do this, and I'm going to have to work really hard." That's when I started Cecchetti training, which is a technique-based teaching method that includes exams on ballet theory and practice.
Ballet is my forte. And it is my favorite. But I also do jazz dancing. Jazz gives me a chance to let loose and just have fun. Plus, the techniques I learn in jazz help me in ballet.
Sometimes people have told me that I couldn't do something or that it was too hard for me. But what really helps me get over the hard parts is knowing that God is with me wherever I go and that He will be there, no matter what happens.
Earlier this year, I went to a competition, and I got there at the wrong time. I was very frazzled. They told me to run and get my costume on. I was crying, upset. But I was glad I wasn't disqualified, which is usually what happens. That's when I remembered something my mom always tells me: "God wouldn't lead you this far and then drop you and say, 'You're on your own now.'" So I prayed and thought about how God was with me right then, guiding me and everyone. That helped me calm down and push all the frazzles out of my thought. So I was able to focus on dancing. And I got the highest award.
People often ask if I get nervous before competitions or performances. I don't get nervous, but I do become very single-minded and focused. I'm in the corner, stretching, and working on my dance. I've learned that you're only competing against yourself. It doesn't work if you think you have to compete against other people, and you measure yourself to their standard. You just have to do the best you can, that's all that matters. It's between you and God.
For me, God is like the tree trunk that holds things, and everything else is a branch. I'm connected to Him. I reflect His perfection and His beauty. This helped me when I was the youngest student at a dance program in Boston this summer Knowing that I am the reflection of God is something that really clicks with me.
One of my favorite things from the Bible is Psalm 149:3, because it talks about what I love to do: "Let them praise His name in the dance."
