The Backpacking Ballerina

Today I woke up and as usual checking the hundreds of notifications I now get daily, I got a special message from someone who is now a good friend of mine, and a very loyal customer to me. Anna, 51 years and still dancing despite suffering from osteoporosis. The woman who broke her bones but still continues to inspire us, I am often amazed at what she can do and what she continues to do even at her age.

When I first met her Anna was very kind, although we have had plenty of misunderstandings with her costumes. I continue to provide them for her because she has been a good challenge for me, I never really take costume orders anymore because I don’t like dealing with the stress but with Anna I really wanted to help. Often times when we would meet, she would not be okay and she would be in so much pain. Yet when she would dance, you could see that she wouldn’t show you that. I saw a very strong and kind god fearing woman.

Her spirit continues to inspire me to teach and to share to my students her story. I hope that someday when I am as old as her I could would still also be dancing just as much as her. A costume I worked on last month for her was featured today on the Philippine daily inquirer newspaper along with her story, i hope that you could all grab a copy of our local newspaper to inspire you somehow. Weather it be about dancing or about life, I am sure you will love reading more about her, just as much as I have loved to have gotten to know her more too.