Sur Les Pointes by Renee Richardson

Read Renée K. Nicholson latest essay, Sur Les Pointes.

This reflective personal essay explores the intersection of ballet, language, and poetry in the author’s life. The writer, a former dancer turned ballet teacher and poet, recounts a pivotal moment during teacher training at the American Ballet Theatre when a respected pedagogue corrected a common misuse of French terminology in ballet—pointing out that the correct term is “sur les pointes,” not “en pointe.” This correction sparks a deeper reflection on the importance of precision in language, not just in dance, but also in poetry.

"I revise myself like I revise a poem."

    Renée K. Nicholson is the author of Fierce and Delicate: Essays on Dance and Illness, as well as co-editor of Bodies of      Truth: Personal Narratives of Illness, Disability, and Medicine and two collections of poetry: Postscripts and Roundabout Directions to Lincoln Center. She was a past Emerging Writer-in-Residence at Penn State-Altoona, is certified in the American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum, as well as holds a Certificate of Professional Achievement from the Program in Narrative Medicine at Columbia University. The recipient of the 2018 Susan S. Landis Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts from the West Virginia Division of Arts, Culture, and History, Renée is now a creative partner in the storytelling project Healthcare Is Human. Her past ballet students from West Virginia have gone on to train at The School of American Ballet, American Ballet Theatre’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, Ballet Met Academy, Charlotte Ballet Academy, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School, and elsewhere.