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Mar. 12, 2014: Ballet is more than just a passion for two Bronxville High School students, Angelina Massa (12th grade) and Mary Watters (9th grade). It's their life.

Angelina Massa has been doing ballet since she was three years old, when her doctor told her mother that it would be good for her. Like many kids, she sat with knees turned in and feet turned out. Because this was bad for her joints, she took ballet class to correct the problem. "Once I got started, I was instantly hooked," she said.

Of course, what she started doing in those early classes of ballet was nothing compared to the art she creates today with her body and ballerina slippers. "I loved pink tutus, I loved stretching, and I loved learning new steps, so I just kept following my heart." But with all these wonderful feelings of wanting to learn more and more comes a lot of work.

Angelina's schedule includes commuting in and out of the city every single day. She has to maintain a watchful eye on the damage from her intense work during training and rehearsals. This includes having to ice, stretch, massage, roll out muscles, and go to physical therapy or a chiropractor for her injuries. Angelina needs to sew the ribbons and elastics onto multiple pairs of her pointe shoes every week. The reason for multiple ballet shoes is that for some of Angelina's shows, she needs shoes that are barely broken in, while for others, she needs "dead shoes," or shoes that are very broken in so that she can be quicker and more mobile.

It is insane for her when she gets home at 9:00 pm on a school night and has to stay up for another three hours to finish her homework and study for any tests she might have. And as stressful as this all is, she still admits to not wanting any life other than this. For having a busy schedule helps her appreciate her free time even more than the average high school student.

Mary Watters also commits herself to ballet every second of the day. Like Angelina, Mary started ballet when she was three. She said that she was drawn to the tutus and tiaras like every other little girl. "It all seemed just so glamorous, and I desperately wanted to be a part of it." Mary also gets home after 9:00 pm every day, but she leaves at noon every day to commute to the city, having an on-the-go lunch. She takes only academics at school. "I don't usually get to sit down and have a family dinner."

Mary isn't entirely sure what she plans to do with ballet in the future. She stated that she fully intends to do ballet for the rest of her life. "I could never imagine giving it up."

Angelina is going to Harvard next year and, fortunate for her, there is a ballet program there and she is hoping that she will be able to be a part of it. "It will be a lot less dancing than I do now, but I can't imagine giving it up altogether."

Although Bronxville is not fully immersed in the arts, Mary believes that ballet is a unique form, and, although it might be a little hard to offer ballet courses specifically, she believes that the arts programs in general should definitely be looked into more.

Angelina thinks that Bronxville has a great performing arts program and also believes it is a little hard to introduce ballet to a small town. "We're so lucky to live just a few miles from the city!"

Both Mary and Angelina are planning to continue ballet for the rest of their lives, and it is truly obvious that their commitment, hard work, and passion make them not only wonderful ballerinas but wonderful people.

Editor's note:  Natalie Arenzon, a sophomore at Bronxville High School, writes for the school's online student newspaper, the Echo, and reports for Bronco TV, and she is active in theater and music.

Pictured here (rotating):  Angelina Massa (in blue) and Mary Watters (in black).

Photo of Angelina Massa by Rosalie O'Connor and photo of Mary Watters by Kyle Froman