Shu Kinouchi and I have known each other for quite some time, having our first exchange at the Tulsa Ballet both ranked as corps de ballet members. We were in our early twenties experiencing our first full time job with a ballet company. We were young, our expectations were high and reality took a few years to set in. I left the Tulsa Ballet after three years and joined Ballet West while Shu stayed one more season and later joined the Houston Ballet. Shu and I were able connect a few months back and have a conversation about moving from a small company to a larger one and the potential of receiving less opportunity in such a setting. Working through a nine month injury and the effects of depression and anxiety can have on an individual. Which then created the pressure of wanting to get back to work when you see your companions passing you up on opportunities you might have be given if you weren’t injured. How meditation and recognizing other hobbies in life that one can start to cultivate on a regular basis. How a shift of perspective opens many doors to new friendships outside of the Ballet World, other artists, and knowing more about what your city might offer. Soon realizing that dancers typically tend to keep their minds in the studio after the day is done and they really only know ballet. The amount of potential we have as individuals within our own curiosity to create so many other beautiful connections to ballet outside of its art form and letting those pathways expand our creativity. Recognizing that older dancers are wise and have so much to offer to the up and coming cohorts, instant gratification is a growing epidemic in our environment and we tend to see it more and more frequently as new dancers are hired. How we both discovered that most companies relate when it comes to marketing and PR and the lack of creativity that typically a fellow dancer will offer out with no extra pay for the extra work of the IG representation. How directors and choreographers can have their favorites and engaging in a conversation with them can be a constant struggle of misunderstandings of ones personality and projections that may have not been let go of from past experiences. The assumption dancers make when not being cast in a role and questioning if it has to do with their ethnicity or the color of their skin should no longer be a stigma that the ballet world chooses to stay connected too. How the classical ballets can evolve and put any dancer in that role no matter their height, ethnicity, or color of their skin. And the juicy moments that offer the reminder of why you do it all in the first place how ones passion can be restored when a choreographer sees you for you and allows you the space to express yourself fully and grow.