Dance
Teen dancer breaks stereotypes and inspires everyone around her
Good for her! 👏
Caryl Jane Espiritu
04.20.22

In a world full of stereotypes, there are few people brave enough to get through the barrier and shine no matter how “different” people perceive them to be.

One of these brave people is Lizzy Howell.

She has proven to everyone that size does not matter when it comes to ballet dancing.

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A post shared by Lizzy Howell (@lizzy.dances)

While most ballerinas are skinny, it does not necessarily mean that one has to be a certain size to be able to do ballet dancing. Lizzy has always wanted to dance ballet – and she didn’t see her weight as a reason to stop reaching for her dreams.

In 2017, Lizzy made the brave decision of making her Instagram profile public. A lot of kids in her school had at least a thousand followers on the social media platform, so she also aimed to achieve that.

Instagram - lizzy.dances
Source:
Instagram - lizzy.dances

After dharing a video of her dancing ballet, Lizzy’s life was never the same.

What she did was the bravest and best decision that broke stereotypes in ballet dancing. A lot of people online commended her for her talent and her grace. Her original video that was uploaded on her Instagram account has now about half a million views and various positive comments that made her heart full.

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A post shared by Lizzy Howell (@lizzy.dances)

Her incredible talent inspired many girls to have the courage to go for their dreams, whether they are skinny or not. Size is not really a problem at all!

Lizzy was only five years old when her mother died because of a car accident. Her great aunt Linda was given parental control of her alongside her great uncle.

From then on, Linda made sure that Lizzy joined various extra-curricular activities such as soccer, field hockey, and dance.

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A post shared by Lizzy Howell (@lizzy.dances)

Her family was supportive of what she wanted to do, but unfortunately, she met ballet teachers who advised her to lose weight so she could get better parts.

They were not very confident that she would make it as a professional ballet dancer in the future. Lizzy did not listen to them. She knew what she wanted in life and she was determined to achieve it.

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A post shared by Lizzy Howell (@lizzy.dances)

As she went on her journey as a dancer breaking stereotypes, her adventure was all captured in her social media accounts where thousands of followers are inspired by her continuous fight for her dream. She is one incredible dancer, indeed!

She has over 200,000 followers on Instagram and more than 900,000 followers on TikTok.

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A post shared by Lizzy Howell (@lizzy.dances)

Lizzy is still not used to being recognized in public because of her rising stardom, but she is glad to meet other girls who are also excited to meet her.

“When I go to a dance convention, all these little girls are so excited to meet me. It’s amazing, but I get nervous,” Lizzy shares with Teen Vogue.

The young ballet dancer never aimed to be a role model for the younger generation of dancers.

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A post shared by Lizzy Howell (@lizzy.dances)

“The role model thing is weird because I’m normal. I’m just this girl from Milford, Delaware, who’s big.”

As she says this, Lizzy reminds her constantly during the interview that she is breaking stereotypes now and she finally realizes:

“I guess I am a role model because I am just myself.”

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A post shared by Lizzy Howell (@lizzy.dances)

Lizzy may not realize it, but she is slowly changing the view of a lot of dancers, especially those being limited due to stereotypes. Her incredible talent and unending passion for dancing have made her an inspiration.

Watch Lizzy show off her moves in the video below!

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

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A post shared by Lizzy Howell (@lizzy.dances)

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