By Alícia
During my Gap Year, I embarked on a four-month adventure—the major planned event in my Gap Year period and the realization of a dream I had yearned for ever since I was three years old and a tiny dash of pink tulle and golden locks with a tiara perched on top jetéing and pirouetting across the living room. As I grew older and began intensifying my training, it became my dream to have the experience of dancing professionally at an international level and to travel the world to dance.
Throughout my Gap Year, I had the incredible opportunity to do so. I traveled for the first time by myself to Amsterdam for short-term training at the European School of Ballet in September 2023, and later that year, danced in the Latin American Finals of Youth Grand Prix in the iconic raked stage of the Rio de Janeiro Municipal Theater and in Buenos Aires, Argentina. From January to April of 2024, I spent three months interning at Ballett Dortmund in Germany, experiencing the transition from the discipline-ruled, strict routine of a school to a company environment where independence and self-motivation are imperative, but also where dancers get to finally free themselves a little from the constant obsession with technique and shift their focus to how using the upper body and expressions more daringly help convey a story to the audience—it is in a company where all the years of stringent technical training and preparation can finally allow you to truly dance. I learned, shadowed, and was coached on pieces from the company’s repertoire, including Tchaikovsky, Schwanensee, Der Traum der roten Kammer, and Midsummer Night’s Dream, and took daily company class, experiencing for the first time, the everyday routine of a professional ballerina. During audition season, I had the chance to travel to Barcelona, Stuttgart, Budapest, Paris, and Timisoara to participate in audition events and take classes with renowned European companies. Then, from mid-April to May, I interned with the English National Ballet School Professional Trainee Program, where I received coaching from former Principal Dancers and collaborated with exciting upcoming choreographers. These extraordinary opportunities endowed me with valuable skills such as independence and the experience of living alone abroad. They also heightened my global awareness by immersing me in new cultures and exposing me to diverse dance styles, teaching methods, and choreography.
This is one very significant part of my identity.
The other part tells the story of a child who, in any free moment, pleaded with her mom to take her to her laboratory or with her dad to perch her on his desk as he reported exams. From a young age, my inquisitive and restless nature left no question about Petri dishes, cryogenic tanks, and MRI scans unasked, and I found myself captivated when observing my parents’ methodical, almost choreographed work. My mother is the CEO of a biotechnology company that stands as the only one of its kind in Brazil, a medical school professor, and a cellular therapy researcher who dedicated her career to developing and bringing innovation to a country often underfunded in the scientific field. My father is a radiologist who has given thousands of patients many years more of life by precociously diagnosing breast cancer at the earliest stage in the country’s southern region. I discovered soon in life that I shared her investigative spirit and passion for learning and exploration and inherited his will to apply these skills to diagnosis and helping others; during high school, in between my 36-hour-a-week ballet schedule, I never shied away from opportunities that could broaden my trajectory and allow me to explore this passion. An initiative to help my mom translate and revise articles by her medical students at Universidade do Rio dos Sinos soon became an academic endeavor. As I demonstrated adeptness in understanding and contributing to scientific studies, my enthusiastic curiosity led the biotechnology researchers at Hemocord Biotechnology to use my contributions. It allowed me to translate my theoretical comprehension into practice: I was given the opportunity to assist and shadow researchers in culturing the first clinical-grade human induced pluripotent stem cells from umbilical cord tissue in Brazil, performed statistical analyses for cord blood sample validation before and after a cell-processing facility relocation published in Transfusion, and counted cell viability to validate a cryopreservation protocol for a biological wound cover with human amniotic membrane tissue published in Cytotherapy. Early involvement in the scientific and medical community later inspired me to author a meta-analysis on the perception of mental health in elite athletes, participate in the Johns Hopkins University Global Health Leaders Conference, and enroll in the University of Nebraska’s online course, Anatomy & Physiology. After returning from my period abroad in mid-May, I plan to continue interning at Hemocord and assisting in publishing novel scientific works.
For much of my life, I lived what felt like a “double life,” separating two parts of my identity that could each be pursued full-time. While this experience has been said to grant me maturity and decision-making capacity beyond my years, it was challenging to manage the trade-offs and the frustration of not being able to devote 100% of my time and energy to either pursuit. I often felt isolated, lacking anyone who could fully relate to my unique situation, and it pained me to think I would eventually have to choose between them. However, personal reflection and growth, especially during my Gap Year, have led me to shift my perspective.
I have apprehended that, as human beings, we are more complex than being defined by a single passion, and now value what a privilege it was to intensely experience these simultaneously distinct and alike worlds so young, having the opportunity to evaluate and adapt my decisions constantly. I have realized that I will always be a ballerina—in my way of dealing with obstacles, in my methodical and detail-oriented way of working, and in my creativity. Ballet has given me the utmost respect for how the human body works to allow intricate movements and taught me to experiment with the wordless language of choreography to convey emotions and tell a story. It has taught me so many lessons of resilience and grit that have been ingrained into my very element of being, that I don’t believe it will ever leave my essence. This art form truly prepares you for the stage of life, as my teacher has always told me. At the same time, growing up with a front-row seat to the scientific community sparked my investigative spirit and desire to gain deeper theoretical comprehension. From early on, I saw myself as an innate investigator and avid reader, fueled by a generational passion for perpetual learning and discovery. The thought of converting research into practical results that have the potential to make a tangible difference in the lives of so many people, being constantly intellectually challenged by the dynamic and ever-evolving nature of medical science, forging deep, trusting human connections, and above all, becoming a source of comfort and healing to my patients calls to me on a profound level; it is a journey that although arduous, I believe will be immensely gratifying and rewarding.
I have also come to understand that my passions for dance and medicine are profoundly interconnected, with the most significant link being the ability to build rapport and connect with my audience, be they patrons or patients. Whether engaging in research with practical applications or playing a principal role to elate the public, my life is centered around a deep-seated desire to impact individuals meaningfully. My diverse upbringing drives my aspiration to become a medical practitioner with the unrelenting cognitive flexibility, creative thinking, and personal responsibility of a ballerina–allowing me to translate my ability to connect into a holistic approach to care. I now view medicine as a continuation of my passion for ballet, both driven by a desire to connect, inspire, and heal. Ultimately, both pursuits share a common goal: a dancer’s quest for perfection aims to bring joy and rapture to the audience, just as a medical practitioner’s goal is to provide hope and remedy through knowledge.
I am deeply grateful to the Duke Gap Year Program for allowing me to fulfill my dreams of dancing professionally, and now eagerly anticipate being part of a vibrant atmosphere of discovery, surrounded by unique peers who also dance with enthusiasm for learning. Having nurtured an appreciation for the unforeseen opportunities ahead, I will eagerly embrace the choices I’ll encounter in my future endeavors with enthusiasm and curiosity, forging pathways that unite my interests. As I embark on a new chapter in pre-medicine, I realize that I am not bidding farewell to the ballerina within me; instead, I now know my passions are intertwined, forming the individual I am today and equipping me to face future challenges in the path towards becoming a physician.
When I step off the stage, the ballerina and the aspiring doctor within me take turns rediscovering their space, merging into a single identity that lies dormant until one is called upon again—they will perpetually be vital fragments of the puzzle that make me Alícia: ballerina and future doctor.
