Artists of Ballet Kelowna in Bolero by Guillaume Côté 1.

Image Credit: From the Treehouse Photography

After a lifetime of commitment to ballet, a professional dancer is taking herself in a new direction.

Desiree Bortolussi started ballet when she was four and began a career with Ballet Kelowna right out of high school. Now, after 13 years of dedication to her art, she is hanging up her pointe shoes.

“I just looked at the rest of my life and thought I can't be doing such physical activity every single day forever,” she said. “It's very bittersweet. I feel like I'm excited about the decision and also sad to be leaving my love of my career.”

The Ballet Kelowna company practices for nine hours a day, five days a week, for almost the entire year. She said dance is as rewarding as it is physically demanding.

“One of my favourite things about ballet is the balance between artistry and athleticism. You really have to be an athlete, essentially. But it's paired with beautiful artistry and passion for the music and the movement as well,” she said.

Ballet Kelowna Dancer Desiree Bortolussi.

Image Credit: Emily Cooper

Bortolussi said she is fortunate that she hasn’t had any serious injuries in her career, but ballerinas are prone to joint problems.

“There's lots of injury prevention that we have to do because it is very physically demanding on knees and ankles. A lot of dancers have hip problems because of the extreme range that we need to have strength in,” she said.

As much as turning your passion into your profession can seem like a dream, she said it make it hard to find work life balance.

“I think any artist understands that as much as you leave work at work, it does come home with you a little bit. You're always thinking about, 'I have to practice this and tomorrow I need to go over that again,'” she said. "When you're doing something that you love or you're passionate about it as a job, it can consume your life sometimes."

There is a lot of work behind the scenes of a ballet production like choreographing and rehearsing the dance itself, but also the people who work on costumes, lighting and music. Bortolussi said constant rehearsal can be mentally difficult on top of the physical toll.

“It's mentally taxing, too. You're really asked a lot of. You're thinking of a lot of choreography. You're dealing with a lot of different personalities in the room. Sometimes, yeah, it's frustrating,” she said. “The mental toll that you go through during a rehearsal period and then kind of overcoming that is pretty cool.”

Artists of Ballet Kelowna in Cuatro Estaciones by Simone Orlando.

Image Credit: Dave Mai

Bortolussi will be dancing in her last show with the company, Ode, on Nov. 8 and 9 at the Kelowna Community Theatre, and then turning her energy towards working as a massage therapist.

“If there was any kind of ache or pain that I was dealing with, massage was the one thing that really helped me be able to do my job,” she said. “Hopefully I'll be able to just help dancers rather than be the one needing help.”

Bortolussi said she’s looking forward to keeping dancing in her life.

“Hopefully I have some more freedom to put work as work and then also enjoy dance as my passion still, on the side,” she said. 

Ballet Kelowna Dancers Kurt Werner and Desiree Bortolussi in Cuatro Estaciones by Simone Orlando.

Image Credit: Dave Mai

She said the ballet is more fun than its reputation.

“There's sort of a stigma that it's very hoity-toity and you have to be dressed to the nines and it's that kind of event,” she said. “We want anyone and everyone to come and just have a good time. The music is different. Each of the pieces have very different styles,” she said.

A career change like this is a big step, but Bortolussi said she's ready. 

“I'm definitely nervous,” she said. “I just felt like it was the right moment in my life and I really wanted to finish off my career on a high.”

Click here for more information about Ballet Kelowna.

Artists of Ballet Kelowna in Bolero by Guillaume Côté 2.

Image Credit: From the Treehouse Photography

Ballet Kelowna Dancer Desiree Bortolussi.

Image Credit: Emily Cooper

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