to make it look effortless.

跳起來要毫不費力。

But, beneath all of that, it's the most difficult thing I could imagine.

但是，除此之外，我覺得它是世界上最困難的事情。

Ballet can completely break you, and it's pretty all or nothing.

芭蕾可以徹底地擊敗你，它是一種孤注一擲的投入。

When did you start dancing?

你幾歲開始跳舞？

I didn't start studying ballet seriously at City Ballet School until 14,

我直到14歲才開始在城市芭蕾舞學校系統性地學習芭蕾舞，

which is pretty late.

比一般舞者晚很多。

A lot of girls start when they're like 6, 7, 8,

很多女孩都是6、7、8歲就開始學了，

and I started in level three with the 11-year-olds.

剛開始我跟11歲的學生一起上第三級。

Did you ever feel dejected because you were older,

你曾經因為自己年紀比較大而沮喪嗎？

thinking that you had to do so much more to catch up?

想著得付出更多才能趕上落後的進度？

So, I would leave the class almost every day

那時候我幾乎每天離開教室

and go cry in the bathroom before coming back in

就會躲到廁所裡哭完再回教室上課

because the 11-year-olds were so talented.

因為那些11歲的同學都很有天分。

It was really depressing

這真的很令人氣餒，

and I thought about quitting all the time.

我常常會想要放棄。

What kept you going?

你怎麼撐過來的？

It's hard because you don't see improvement day to day.

難熬的原因是你不會每天看到明顯的進步。

But, eventually, you see just a glimpse,

但你終究會看到一絲曙光，

and that feels so good when you can see that you've accomplished something.

達成目標的感覺真的很棒。

Tell me about some of the competitions that you've won.

跟我分享你贏過的比賽吧。

This year, we did participate in the Youth America Grand Prix.

今年我們參加了美國青年芭蕾大賽。

It's the biggest student ballet competition in the world,

這是全球最盛大的學生芭蕾舞比賽，

and I ended up winning the silver medal.

我拿到銀牌。

So I received a scholarship to the Royal Ballet School.

因此我獲得皇家芭蕾舞學院的獎學金。

I was accepted to Harvard this year,

我今年被哈佛錄取，

but I'm choosing to defer.

但我選擇延遲入學。

And how difficult is it to get into the Royal Ballet School?

進入皇家芭蕾舞學院有多難？

I think it's harder than Harvard.

我覺得比哈佛還難。

It's definitely a dream come true.

這就像是美夢成真。

You have a very distinct ritual when it comes to performance and ballet.

對於上台表演和芭蕾舞，你有個特別的習慣。

Can you tell me about that?

妳可以跟我分享嗎？

So, part of the ritual for me is a very set routine for preparing your body,

我的習慣就是做固定的暖身運動，

and in doing such a repetitive and specific warm-up,

重複一模一樣的暖身運動

you also get your mind into that sort of zen zone.

可以讓我的思緒平靜下來。

I just sit down, close my eyes,

我會坐下來，閉上眼睛，

and then I rehearse my dance in my head.

在腦中預演要跳的舞步。

Sometimes I'll put in earbuds,

有時候我會戴上耳機，

the music activates the muscle memory when you're dancing.

跳舞時，音樂可以喚醒肌肉記憶。

I like to visualize all the dancing,

我喜歡把整支舞蹈先想一遍，

go through each step in my mind,

在腦中預演每個舞步，

just thinking about the movements, and also,

複習所有動作的同時，

really trying to feel them in my body.

認真地用身體去感受。

You do the ideal in your head and hope it translates.

在腦中進行完美預演，期望能成功地演繹。

What pressure are you under?

妳的壓力從何而來呢？

How high are the stakes for you?

對妳來說風險有多大？

As a student, each performance matters so much,

對學生而言，每次表演都很重要，

because you just don't have as many in the competitions,

因為比賽時表演機會不多，

you only have one chance on stage.

在台上只有一次機會。

It's a lot of pressure.

壓力非常大。

The visualization is so important, because it shows me

想像對我來說很重要，因為它能讓我知道

what I'm going for, what I'd like the performance to be.

我應該做到什麼、我想呈現怎麼樣的表演。

And I get really nervous.

我比賽時會非常緊張。

So if my mind goes blank onstage,

如果我在台上腦袋一片空白，

the muscle memory kind of kicks in,

肌肉記憶就會發揮作用，

because your body recognizes what's going on and what's going to happen.

因為身體知道該怎麼做，也記得接下來的舞步。

What lessons have you learned about success?

關於成功，妳學到了什麼？

The most surprising thing for me has just been

最讓我驚喜的就是

that success can come.

我竟然可以成功。

I mean, when I started and I was nowhere near the top of my class,

我的意思是，剛學芭蕾的時候，我的表現並不出色，

I never imagined any of this.

我從來沒想過會有這一天。

I really fell in love with dance when I discovered classical ballet.

認識古典芭蕾後，我深深愛上跳舞。

And it's kind of strange, but what I like the most about it is just how challenging it is,

雖然聽來奇怪，但我最喜歡的是跳舞充滿挑戰，

and improvement that you see is directly proportional to what you put in.

還有付出多少努力就會有多少回報。

You decide how hard you work,

我可以決定要多努力，

and you decide how much better you get, and it's all on you,

也可以決定進步多少，一切都在自己的掌控之中，

which, that independence and control, is really satisfying.

這種獨立性和掌控權帶來很大的成就感。

I hope you enjoyed this episode

希望大家喜歡本集節目，

about Rio's dream of becoming a professional ballerina

我們介紹了 Rio 成為專業芭蕾舞者的夢想

and the rituals that are helping her get there.

以及幫助她實現夢想的習慣。

To see more rituals of extraordinary people,

想了解更多傑出人物的習慣，

please click here to subscribe.

請點擊此處訂閱。

And for another episode, please click here to watch now.

想看下集，請點擊此處收看。

The ritual of swimming is so important for me.

游泳的習慣對我來說非常重要。

Every day my body gets to be immersed in the bay.

每天我的身體都沉浸在海灣中，

I can't imagine my life without it now.

我無法想像沒有游泳的生活。