“A Ballerina Who Doesn’t Give Up”: A Plus-Size Girl Danced Regardless of Her Parameters and Health Condition!
Jessica Bell started dancing at the age of three. At the age of 16, she achieved success. The ballerina wanted to dance, but it seemed difficult because of her size.
In addition, at this age, doctors diagnosed her with polycystic ovaries. She needed to undergo a series of operations. And then she was forbidden to lose weight.
“A ballerina must correspond to sizes 38-40, if the weight exceeds the allowable norm, you automatically fly out of the profession,” Jessica explained.
The girl was given an ultimatum: either she is losing weight, or the contract is terminated with her. Jessica lost 10 kilograms. But the following surgeries showed that her life was in danger if she didn’t stop losing weight.
And after Jessica became a mother. She gained another 20 kilograms. With such a weight, one could forever forget about the career of a ballerina. But she absolutely should not lose weight. She had to learn to live in her body and accept herself.
“I want to dance, this is my calling. I dance 40 hours a week. Every week. And I do it well. It’s harder for me to dance than more slender people, but I do it because even weight cannot be an obstacle to my dream.”
Persistence and self-confidence brought her well-deserved recognition. When the Channel 4 TV channel undertook to shoot the documentary series “Big Ballet”, Jessica was invited to play the Black Swan.
“I would like to be able to say to all the people who want to dance but face obstacles: ‘Just keep going.’ If I had given up even then, at the age of 16, I would not have got what I have”, the woman said.