A Dancer Needs to Dance

"Years and years of training, rehearsing, and performing six days a week suddenly got replaced by nothing. Dancers were forced to train at home to keep in shape via online lessons. Living in a tiny apartment in Amsterdam, missing her boyfriend, and not being able to perform for a large audience. What does that do to your body and mind?"

- By Ingeborg Everaerd

When I met Belgian dancer Nina Tonoli at the beginning of 2020, she had just moved to Amsterdam and had left her boyfriend and comfortable apartment in Vienna behind to pursue her dream of becoming a soloist at the Dutch National Ballet. We had just agreed to work together on a story about her dreams and her challenging life as a first soloist when the global pandemic came into play.

Ingeborg Everaerd © All rights reserved

Years and years of training, rehearsing, and performing six days a week suddenly got replaced by nothing. Dancers were forced to train at home to keep in shape via online lessons. Living in a tiny apartment in Amsterdam, missing her boyfriend, and not being able to perform for a large audience. What does that do to your body and mind?

Something that would have been impossible with her everyday work schedule is that I had the opportunity to see her on a regular base. It was very inspiring to get to know the woman behind the ballerina. To hear her talk about her immense passion for dance despite the typical physical pains and lack of private life where even love seems to come second.

A dancer needs to dance.