TOW #29

            An injury can be set back to anyone who receives one. But for dancers in particular, an injury could be the end of their careers.  In the Sundance documentary, First Position, the viewers are brought to see how career threatening an injury can be for young dancers. Many dancers who get injured choose to work through the injury, but others are not lucky enough to just work through the pain. If a dancer receives a sever injury, they may be out of training for up to a year.  Being a dancer myself, I know how devastating it is to get injured and be forced to stop working. The documentary was a great way for non-dancers to see how threatening an injury can be for dancers.

            In the film, one of the main kids they were shadowing had tendonitis in her arches.  Around the time of the finals, Michaela was worried that her tendon would snap while she was dancing and that her career as a ballerina would be over before it even truly began. Michaela also allowed viewers to see the pain dancers put themselves through to continue their training; throughout, she pushed herself to the limits and her arches were constantly in pain.  Dancers are willing to push through their injuries, just so they can have their chance at success. The devastation that comes along with a dance injury is much higher than any other form of disappointment.

            I myself have experienced a few injuries throughout my dance training. In fact, in the past year I acquired two sprained ankles and was out of training for about three months. Recovering for the injury was hard because I had lost so much of my muscle build up and both of my ankles were now more susceptible to being reinjured. These injuries were devastating to me because they both caused setbacks in my dance training and made me weaker.

            First Position was able to show viewer about the risks that comes along with a dance injury.