Alexis Ren Shares Ballet Video Alongside Candid Message of What the Sport Means to Her

The classically trained ballerina showed off her talent and shared a vulnerable story in her latest Instagram post.

Alexis Ren.Gotham/Getty Images

Alexis Ren, SI Swimsuit’s 2018 Rookie of the Year, is getting candid about her experience as a ballerina, including the ups and downs of the competitive sport, what it means to her and what she has learned.

The We Are Warriors founder, who grew up taking ballet lessons and was a classically trained ballerina, shared a message on Instagram alongside a video set to a sweet piano melody of her ballet skills. Ren was ready to audition to join a professional ballet company when her modeling career began to take off and she pivoted careers.

“Ballet has been so many things for me. It’s been heaven and an escape. Hell and a prison. Through hours of pouring sweat and soul onto the dance floor, I have found a work ethic and a determination I wouldn’t trade for the world. The ability to look resistance square in the eyes and keep going. Yet, I’ve also pushed myself over the edge striving for perfection,” the 26-year-old wrote. “When you get that first pair of point shoes, they’re stiff. Snug to the bone, they must be broken in through time and dedication. Eventually there is a level of trust, until finally over time they can no longer hold you up and we have to once again find a new shoe that fits.”

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A post shared by Alexis Ren (@alexisren)

The 2018 Dancing With the Stars alumna compared ballet to art and noted that ballerinas and artists are both students finding their way until they get the hang of things.

“Eventually, we outgrow our own work and if we aren’t willing to risk something new, our spark crumbles and breaks down,” she continued. “No matter what phase I’m in, the building or the breaking, I know that if I step into a studio, I am home. Home in this body, home in this world.”

She encouraged fans who were questioning where their childhood spark went to go backward and “peel back the layers.”

“Remembering who you were is how you continue to build your legacy, staying forever faithful to your spark,” she shared. “Our childhood dreams become our adult passions.”

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