The Conservatory Setting

The setting of a book explores the place and time in which the characters live. The setting in this particular book brings many terrible effects to each character. The decision to dance at ABC did affect each character's life.
Growing up, Gigi’s ballet was for fun- nothing more, nothing less. However, as she started to develop her skills, she needed a more prestigious conservatory to better fit her needs as the ballerina she was becoming. So, she traveled all the way across the country to train, but, little did she know that at the ABC, ballet world took a very sharp turn. When Gigi moved into the conservatory, things quickly and unexpectedly changed. As the new girl, she definitely didn't have it easy, but to get the lead role, was even worse. Ballerinas in the conservatory will do anything to get
on top.
Due to Gigi’s outstanding abilities, she was constantly harassed by other girls so they could possibly snatch her role. The only reason for these girls behaviors, was the harsh and competitive setting. For example, on pg. 251, the ballet instructor Mr. K states, “Some are
born to dance, some are born with afflictions… Some are born in second place and no matter how hard they try it how hard they work, they will never surpass them.” This evidence shows how brutal and straightforward their teacher is. Due to talks like this, the girls are pressured into always thinking poorly about themselves and to get on top, they take drastic measures such as put glass in her ballet shoe, write cruel messages, and even push Gigi into a moving taxi. For Gigi, this setting turned her favorite thing in the whole world into a situation where she needs to truly watch her back at all times.
Bette has basically grew up at the conservatory. Her sister was an extremely talented dancer that is famously known by all of the dancers. So, there is no surprise that when she permanently becomes a resident of this setting, it is very hard for her to handle everything. As I mentioned earlier, the ABC brings lots of pressure and stress and because of her sister, Bette is expected to be perfect. Even though Bette is very favored at the conservatory, she still feels like she has a lot to live up to. So, she does whatever she can to get to the top - matter how cruel. At times she has injured other girls and taken drugs just to ensure that she’s the best. Many readers may blame these problems on her mental state, however, there is no point in the book that Bette is shown to be mentally unstable. So, I can conclude that this terrible, yet prestigious environment is to blame for Bette’s problems.
June is a beautiful dancer that used to be a happy and energetic child. However, with all of the tough competition of the ABC, June is thrown into many hardships. Growing up, June was almost always the most talented ballerina in the room, however, at the AMerican Ballet Conservatory, she can’t quite get to the top as she is most often overlooked and cast as an understudy. The setting definitely impacts her self esteem because she works and works, but she is never good enough in the conservatory’s eyes. With the tough conditions of this school, June turns to perfection as her motto. Striving to be your best self is fine, however, June takes this concept to a new level. Instead of maintaining a healthy diet to keep her strong, she turns to throwing up mostly everything she eats. Instead of exercising regularly to keep her strong, she overworks herself every night at the gym resulting in getting almost no sleep. June believes that these dangerous behaviors are helping her, however, they are slowly killing her. The conservatory definitely brought these hardships into June’s life with their expectation of always needing to be perfect and the best.