Arabesques on Astroturf
It’s wild how convincing the “grass is greener” narrative can be… until you realise it’s not grass at all. It’s astroturf. Looks lush from a distance, photographs beautifully for Instagram, but offers very little support once you actually try to dance on it.
Once upon a time, a student who was nurtured, supported and given every opportunity requested decided to try her luck elsewhere. There was no conversation. No courtesy. Just surprise Instagram videos appearing from a new studio, a soft-launch breakup no one had been told about.
A few weeks in, reality set in. The novelty wore off. The meeting was requested. The return was asked for.
We said yes.
Back into solos. Back into troupes. Back into multiple private lessons. Back into being invested in, championed and poured into. All the things that don’t show up in a highlight reel but quietly build real results.
She finished the year with outstanding exam and competition outcomes. Thriving. Succeeding. Winning. Proof that environment, consistency, and care matter.
The following year? Off she went again. Back to the very studio she had first left, once more chasing that greener grass. Two terms later….gone. Then onto another studio. And now….another one again.
At some point, it stops being about the studio and starts being about the mindset.
Here’s the truth: gratitude, humility and kindness will take you further than hopping fences ever will. Growth doesn’t come from constantly looking sideways, it comes from staying long enough to be shaped. Loyalty still matters. So does recognising the people who saw your potential before the trophies, the titles and the applause.
There is something powerful about investing in those who were there at the beginning, the ones who nurtured the talent that created the success, not just the ones who applauded the outcome.
It was in this cycle that clarity arrived. A quiet but firm reminder that my time and energy are valuable. That losing myself to exhaustion while trying to appease everyone else was costing me far too much. I had been pouring endlessly, while slowly emptying myself in the process.
Stepping away. Healing. Resetting boundaries.
That’s where the real win was.
Because losing what drained me meant gaining my peace and unlike astroturf, that kind of ground actually lets you stand strong, balanced, and supported.
