I love the adult ballerinas of tiktok

they're healing their inner children, but moreso, their outer adults

TW: ballet.

I was too ADHD for ballet. I liked talking too much. And my posture is bad. I stopped taking class at…five? But lately I’ve been thinking of going back, thanks to the adult ballerinas of the internet.

Adult ballet is very much a thing right now. You can read reporting about it in the LA Times, or you can just follow me on a tour of TikTok.

@thebarremaidstale🩰✨ #ballet #ballerina #adultballet #balletdancer #balletbeginner #fyp #foryoupage #foryou #pointe #pointeshoes #ballerinas #ballerinasoftiktok #ballettok #ballettiktok #dance #dancersoftiktok #dancereels

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The drive behind the adult ballerina trend seems to be overlapping desires: to dress up, to get exercise, to fulfill a childhood urge and, though none of them are saying this, I believe they like being in a room full of women for hours a week. It’s like there’s men every damn place you go except at ballet class.

@veronicaviccoraTop 3 best life choices I ever made were: 1. Moving to Manhattan to pursue dance 2. Actually walking into my first dance class 3. Walking into dance classes every week for the past year #ballet #balletdancer #ballerina #ballerinalife #balletlife #nycballet #adultballet #trending

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Many frame it as self-care, healing their “inner child” who couldn’t take ballet due to financial or physical limitations. I think there’s truth here, and it’s definitely more self-care-y and inner-child-healing-y than, like, only reading YA or blowing your savings on a trip to Disneyland or whatever other kidulting thing we do.

But I think there’s an underestimation of how much they are healing their inner adults. After all, professional ballet dancers may be young, but they tend to be over the age of eighteen. This is an adult hobby that takes an adult amount of work and concentration, even if you’re only doing it for fun, as most adult beginners are. The desire to be graceful, artistic, feminine and strong…these are not little girls in pearls and curls things. Being an adult is boring and hard in a way that even a mid childhood just isn’t. If ballet can shake up your week in a pleasant way, no need to write it off as childhood wish fulfillment. Like ceramics or softball, maybe ballet is a thing adults can partake in at the amateur level without it being a novelty or a gimmick.

@kelllalalalaThank you ballet!! #ballet #adultballet #balletoutfits #balletcore #adultballetcommunity #dancetok #dancer #balletclass #selflove

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Still, I very much get the “fix your childhood” thing. The absolute BREAKTHROUGH I had in therapy when I realized that my distaste for exercise comes not from the act itself but my association with PE in school (not that this BREAKTHROUGH has led to me WORKING OUT MORE but like MENTALLY IT WAS INTERESTING).

@ashleerosehartley6 months of taking ballet since i was a teen. 🩰 So rewarding. #ballet #ballerina #dancing #midsizequeens #danceclass

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If nothing else, the physical, visible progress these women are making inspires me to think bigger in my pursuits. And of course, to not let age define me. It’s 2025, women get married on their own timelines, have babies on their own timelines, damn, we even go to ballet on our own timelines.

@kathrin.gibsonIts never too late to start ballet even as an adult 🩰💕 #ballet #ballerina #balletcore #ballettok #balletdancer #adultballet #balletclass #ballettiktok #adultballetcommunity #beginnerballetdancer #balletvlog #pointe #balletoutfit #CapCut

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And here’s where I admit that I very much have my own version of this, and that I KEEP NOT DOING IT. Every year, every effing year, I tell myself that I will finally fulfill my lifelong dream of going to Space Camp. Yes, they have Space Camp for adults, and no, it’s not too expensive.

@ketcherifucanJust here to tell you that adults can try new things, too 😉 #adultballet #adultbeginnerballet #adultbeginner #nevertoolate #ballettok #adultballerina #fyp #adultpointejourney #adultpointe #adultballetdancer #beginningpointe #trynewthings

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I came really close to registering for it last year, but by the time I’d made up my mind, the session was full. And you know what coming really close looks like? It looks like not going to Space Camp!!!!!

@micaastepso excited🤍 #ballet #balletcore #ballettok #adultballet #balletclass

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I have only myself to blame. No one can go to Space Camp for me, and no one is stopping me from going. But it’s a new year, and I have the adult ballerinas of TikTok to inspire me. Should we make a few resolutions? Try something new? Or something old, again? And the outfits! The outfits!

Pirouette!

Lizzie