In this month’s team feature we’re getting to know BalletBody’s favourite sisters – Ziyi and Zile. Renowned for their long legs and beautiful lines, learn more about what got them both into ballet, and how they find sharing a passion with a sibling.
Q: Growing up, did you both always share a passion for ballet or did one of you influence the other to start?
Zile: When we were kids, our parents let me choose whether I wanted to take ballet or piano classes. I’m not sure why I chose ballet but I already loved music and dancing, so it just fit.
The ballet studio I went to had no doors, which meant that my eager little sister could watch me do ballet from outside. Ziyi would try to imitate and keep up with the class. A few times my ballet teacher spotted Ziyi dancing outside, and invited her into the studio after class just to teach her a few steps.
Ziyi was very excited when our mom finally said she was old enough to be enrolled into a ballet class!
Q: Can you share a favourite childhood memory related to ballet that you both cherish?
Ziyi: My favourite memory is watching my sister’s first ballet performance, The Little Mermaid at Fort Canning. I remember being so excited and wanting so badly to be a part of it too. I was so in awe of everyone’s role in the production, I kept asking my mom when i could be included in something this huge. I still have the pictures taken from that day.
Q: What have you learned about each other through your shared experiences as BalletBody instructors?
Zile: I learned that Ziyi’s really good at taking things in her stride. Even though teaching has its challenges, she stays calm and level-headed and takes on each task as it comes. If I was deceived by how easy things look for her, I’m not now. She just makes difficult things appear effortless, just as how she dances ballet! I admire her ability to adapt to the challenge.
I love that I get to work with my sister because I get to come to her for help hahaha: “Does this class plan work?” “Can I do the arms like this?” “Will the clients be able to dance these steps?” We send SOS messages to each other about planning classes and tell each other stories about our day’s work. Sometimes clients tell me they’ve been to my sister’s class and share positive feedback about her classes with me, and I’ll pass them on to her too. We are very happy to be able to share BalletBody with one another!
Ziyi: I’ve always admired my sister’s commitment & persistence. I’ve seen her hard work since day one of training and this will always be something I’ll admire from her. Ever since she started her training to be a BalletBody instructor, she’s been coming to me for advice on how to improve. Sometimes, we spend time taking turns demonstrating our combinations to each other, cramped up in front of our only tiny full length mirror in the house and getting inspired by what the other does! We’ve even taken turns attending each others classes just so we could draw inspiration from each other. I never imagined ever working in the same place as my sister as we always had such different strengths back in school, but that’s the amazing thing about ballet! Ballet has always brought us together, it has always been our area of common interest and our passion for it has brought us closer again 🙂 I’m so thankful that we’re able to share such a common ground. sometimes, it feels just like how it was back in those days when we were little kids.
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