Tuli Bera

“I began my Ballet training around the age of 4-5 at the Lee School of Ballet in Champaign, IL under the direction of Gwendolyn Lee. And a few years later, I continued training with Deanna Doty at Champaign-Urbana Ballet Academy for the next 10-12 years. I fell hard for Ballet and it became a significant part of my life. I lived and breathed it day and night. My favorite memories when it came to performances were the pantomime moments. I loved the theatrical component and I loved to smile. I still remember the soreness from smiling so hard!

I took a break from Ballet and dance in general at the age of 16 to pursue a more active social life. But found myself yearning to be back in the studio. It was my time in college (The University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign), that my mind and body were opened up to the potential and diversity of movement expression. Here I was immersed in a plethora of styles and genres of dance. While I still found my comfort with Ballet this time was also the moment I started to question Ballet and eventually I rejected it by vowing to not perform it again. I saw how much I let the form define who I was and how I expressed myself. I often found myself asking, how can I love a form that doesn’t accept all bodies and expressions?

As much as I wanted to reject the form, it was still a skill I was an expert in— plus, ya girl had bills to pay. Thus, Ballet stayed in my life through teaching. And I have to admit that Ballet is one of my first loves. Today, I find myself excited to find ways to create an environment where Ballet feels more accessible. I absolutely love teaching Adult Ballet— to break down the form is a challenge that motivates me. I want to find 50 more ways to describe how to do a tendu!

The “Ballet Unboxed” series is a way for me to continue my exploration of Ballet and engage more people in this questioning. I believe that Ballet is a toolbox to learn more about ourselves (both emotionally and physically). Everyone has a unique relationship to the form and this project aims to highlight that.