Plus-Size Teen Ballerina Shatters Dancing Barriers, Inspires Thousands With Viral Video.

We have shared stories with you before about remarkable dancers. Remember the teenager who overcame years of bullying and stunned the Britain’s Got Talent judges with an amazing ballet routine? How about the story of the ballerina who became blind and partially paralyzed after a brain tumor, but had jaws dropping with her beautiful return to the stage?

Once again, ballet is back in the spotlight. This time, it’s because of a 15-year-old ballerina from Delaware named Lizzy Howell and one video that is quickly going viral!

Lizzie has been dancing since preschool and– although she’s been told many times that her size may keep her from excelling as a ballerina– she has no plans to stop dancing any time soon!

A photo posted by Lizzy (@lizzy.dances) on

Lizzy enjoys showcasing her dance activities on her Instagram, but the video below of her doing a fouetté has picked up tons of traction:

A video posted by Lizzy (@lizzy.dances) on

Since the video has gone viral, Lizzy now has over 40,000 Instagram followers, all praising her for her skill and calling her an inspiration for pursuing her dream… proving that dancers come in all shapes and sizes.

A photo posted by Lizzy (@lizzy.dances) on

But Lizzy isn’t just an inspiration because of her size. She also has pseudo tumor cerebri, an excess of fluid around the brain. She’s now a spokesmodel for “Dancing for You,” an awareness campaign for children with special needs.

She shared her encouraging story on their Instagram in the caption of the photo below:

I have been dancing for 10 years now and I can tell you, the dance world is a rough place! Being an over weight dancer has come with it’s struggles. I have been told numerous times by teachers that I will get no where in the dance world if I do not lose this weight.

Over the years, I have learned not to care what people think! If people want to tear you down, let them and show them that you can do it!

This campaign means a lot to me as I have pseudo tumor cerebri, which is an excess of fluid around my brain. I have been in the hospital many times for this and I can tell you, it was rough missing dance. Not only do I suffer from pseudo tumor, but I have severe anxiety, which has caused me to go into depression. Dance has been a way to release this anxiety and make me happy.

I will be going into my 8th production of the Nutcracker, my 11th dance recital this year and, my 4th NYCDA convention.

I haven’t given up and neither should you!

A photo posted by Lizzy (@lizzy.dances) on

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