By Steve Sucato

As the story goes, Rachael Parini’s dance journey began at age three when she told her mother that she wanted to play football like her father, who was then a player at Florida State University. The next day, her mother enrolled her in ballet class. 

A native of Snellville, GA, her early dance training began at the Mazza-Smith Dance Studio in Jacksonville, Florida, the Lilburn School of Ballet in Georgia, and at the Atlanta Ballet. In 2005, she was awarded a scholarship to The Rock School for Dance Education in Philadelphia, PA. 

In 2006, Parini placed 3rd at the Youth America Grand Prix competition, and during a 2008 visit to China, she was invited to train with the Shanghai Ballet. 

Before joining BalletMet in 2016, Parini danced professionally with New Jersey’s American Repertory Ballet, Nashville Ballet, and The Washington Ballet.

In addition to her dance credits, Mrs. Parini earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, with minors in International Affairs and Italian. She was also a National Merit Scholar and a former intern with the Department of Homeland Security.

I spoke with Parini by telephone as she prepared for this weekend’s retirement performance about her dance career and about how being diagnosed with Bipolar 1 disorder in 2022 has affected her life and ability to dance. 

As a child, what was it that drew you to dance?
I have always loved performing. I would dance around the house with my little sister and make my dad dance with me, and my mom would record us. Ballet was athletic enough for me to feel like I was physically doing something, and artistic in a way that I needed. I liked drawing and painting, and I wrote poetry.

When did you know you wanted a career in ballet?
I got really serious about ballet when I was fifteen. I would look at other dancers and wonder, Why is that girl in pointe shoes? I want to be in pointe shoes, or Why is that girl dancing that part? I want to dance that? Thankfully, my family was always very supportive of my dancing. I always had the necessary tools to do what was needed for me to improve.

Were there some other career interests?
For a time, I wanted to be a veterinarian, then I wanted to be a lawyer. Looking back, I made the right choice for myself.

Why retire from BalletMet now? 
There are several reasons. Chief among them, in 2022, I was diagnosed as being bipolar. I went through a very traumatic year, and it forced me to reevaluate my priorities. (Read more about Parini’s traumatic year in her article in Pointe Magazine) 

How so?
The culture of ballet is not necessarily conducive to mental peace, and I struggled the past three years to get my feet back underneath me. I don’t mean for it to sound like a sad thing or that I feel like I failed. I am proud of myself for pushing through my illness to return to the art form I love. I was able to get back onstage and be a part of ballets that were awesome. However, the anxiety, fear, and uncertainty that can accompany ballet are now heightened for me. I was having stage fright and performance anxiety for the first time in my life. Going from the stage being a happy place to one that caused fear and anxiety was very bizarre for me. That led to more negative emotions than I was prepared to experience with an art form that had given me so much for so long. Once I realized my relationship with ballet had changed, I knew it was time for me to find something else to do.

Was another reason that you have been dancing professionally for the past 20 years?
Yes. I am 37, and no longer a young ballerina. There are physical aches and pains that have gotten worse over the years. Everyone joining the company is younger, faster, and stronger, and I began to realize that I was enjoying watching them dance more than dancing myself.  

What will you miss about dance company life?
Being in the studio with my friends every day. I have formed some lifelong friendships. I’ll miss the music, my teachers, and that initial feeling of discomfort when starting a new ballet, which slowly fades away with practice and time. I will miss that feeling of accomplishment a lot, as well as performing. There is nothing like being onstage.

What won’t you miss?
I am definitely not going to miss staring at myself in a mirror every day. I have dealt with body dysmorphia for a long time. I think I will be on my way to healing once I am not looking in the mirror so much. I also won’t miss the feeling of competition.

What were some favorite roles or ballets you danced in your career?
Giselle is my favorite story ballet, and I got to dance Moyna in Edwaard Liang’s version. I also loved dancing in William Forsythe’s In the Middle Somewhat Elevated, Val Caniparoli’s Lambarena, and George Balanchine’s Serenade, Theme and Variations, and Rubies. To this day, however, my overall favorite has to be Christopher Wheeldon’s After the Rain pas de deux. That was the last ballet I did before I got sick and the last time I was onstage and felt 100% confident.

What’s left on your bucket list that you didn’t get to dance?
Mrytha in Giselle, Cinderella, and William Forsythe’s The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude.

What’s the best piece of advice you got about dancing?
If you love it, then pursue it and enjoy it while you can.

What advice do you have for young dancers wanting to pursue a career in dance?
Go for it if you love it. It is such a special career, especially now as it continues to grow and evolve into being more welcoming to different kinds of people. You never know who is going to be the next big thing; it could be you, so try.

You have now become an advocate for dancer mental health. How has that taken shape?
There are things I could have handled differently in my life had I known I should be taking better care of my mental health. Even just looking for support and encouragement. Ballet is brutal, and the industry and culture are brutal. For a long time, it was just accepted that you have to be tough as nails and be better than the person next to you. There are so many lines of thinking we are now learning are very toxic. So many people might have fared better in this industry or had a better memory of their career if certain precautions had been taken to protect their mental health. Maybe not having fat talks, not pitting partners against one another, and not teasing roles to someone in order to get them to do what you want when they never had a shot. I am very fortunate that I was able to come out on the other side of this and have a voice and platform to encourage and educate people. 

For the final role in your career, this Sunday, May 4 at noon, you will be portraying Carabosse in Sleeping Beauty. How are you approaching the character?
I have been watching a lot of Disney movies and shows with interesting villains, trying to layer my portrayal of Carabosse. She is evil, obviously. It takes a special kind of person to condemn an infant to death because you didn’t get invited to a party. I am trying to be as nuanced as I can with the character and not just one-note evil. She and the Lilac Fairy characters really drive the Sleeping Beauty story. 

Is this your first time playing a ballet baddie?
Yes. I have never done a part where I am not telling the story through dance as much as through pantomime. Every gesture has meaning. It has been fun blending up a bunch of evil women characters and making my version of Carabosse. 

What’s next?
I want to stay connected to ballet. There is an opportunity for me to work with BalletMet in outreach and education, which I am very interested in, if we can make that work. I also want to look into other art forms and find new passions in my life.

BalletMet performs Sleeping Beauty with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra today through Sunday, May  4, 2025, at the Ohio Theatre, 39 E State St, Columbus, Ohio. Ticket prices range from $38.50 to $102.55 and can be purchased online at balletmet.org and at the CAPA Ticket Center (39 E. State St.). To purchase tickets by phone, please call (614) 229-4848.