âDo no harm, but take no shit.â
Hometown â¶Â Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Occupation â¶Â Ballet Dancer / Instructor
Apartment # ⶠ386 @ 740 Park Avenue
Song ⶠKings and Queens by Thirty Seconds to Mars
Faceclaim ⶠHannah Simone
+ Intelligent, Extroverted, Loyal, Tenacious
- Impulsive, Unforgiving, Brash, Stubborn
Putting on a brave face is as natural as breathing for Grace Park. Sheâs done it so much throughout her whole life that now at almost twenty-nine, itâs no longer justa face. Itâs her reality. Sheâs brave and strong as steel, and itâs obvious in everything about her from the strength behind her gaze to the strut when she walks. Ask anyone who knew her before she left Philly though, and theyâll tell you itâs a miracle she made it past the age of seventeen.
Her mother and father divorced when Grace was just a toddler, and instead of sharing custody, her parents decided that she should live with her mom while her dad moved to England. Still, Rajah Park did an excellent job of remaining a part of his daughterâs life - he never missed a single birthday or Christmas holiday, and she spent weeks at a time with him at his home in London. He showed her how she should be treated: with respect, admiration, and love. He told her she deserved the best, that she was the best, and itâs stuck with her all these years.
Her mother Annabella remarried when Grace was three or four years old. Her new husband was a high-ranking police officer and was well known for his advocacy for Philadelphiaâs impoverished population. It was this generosity of time and self that drew Bella to him; she didnât realize he was a monster until after sheâd made him a part of her family. Graceâs stepfather was physically, verbally, and psychologically abusive. The young girl and her mother lived in fear of his wrath every day, and while Bella seemed to wilt the longer the abuse went on, Grace just got stronger. She was the proverbial diamond in the rough, flourishing and blooming into a gorgeous, confident young girl despite the horrors she was subjected to at home, and it drove her stepfather crazy. All the roiling tension that had been building in the familyâs household finally bubbled over when Grace was seventeen. Her stepfather, angered by a bad day at work and Graceâs refusal to bow to his will, beat her and her mother severely, landing both women in the hospital for an extended stay. The city could no longer turn a blind eye to the wrongdoings of a man theyâd once admired, and he was stripped of his badge and sent to prison for the attack. Enraged at Bella and saddened by Graceâs silence, Rajah moved his daughter to London with him where she recovered⊠and then thrived.
Through it all, ballet kept Grace together: its quiet elegance and⊠well, grace was a wonderful counterpoint to all the upheaval and disarray in her life. Though everyone told her she was the wrong size, shape, color, even temperament for a ballerina, her naysayers were silenced when faced with the sheer enormity of her talent. She was a shoo-in for the Royal Ballet Schoolâs Covent Garden program. She trained hard, and it showed, but she played hard too. It frustrated her teachers and fellow dancers and amused her father to no end, but Grace could not, would not be stopped.
It was in one of her French classes towards the end of her time at uni that Grace first saw Livia Lawson, the girl who proved to be her match. She intrigued Grace to no end: she was beautiful and incredibly smart, but Grace could tell by looking at her that she was the life of any party she attended. Livia proved her right on the night of her twenty-first birthday when sheâd flirted Grace up then piled into a taxi with her. And then passed out before they could go any further. The two of them ended up chatting the next morning away, and even though life has sometimes taken them away from each other, their bond as best friends has remained unbroken since that night.
Her last year at RBS brought her a lot of attention from the international ballet community, and since she graduated, sheâs been dancing everywhere, garnering quite a bit of prestige and admiration along the way. The rehearsing and constant travel give her little time to see Livia or her father, but she tries to stay in contact as much as possible while sheâs working. Not having time for the two most important people in her life kills her, and she feels a little guilty when something big happens in one of their lives and she canât be there to offer her support and love. She knows they both understand, however, and thatâs what allows her to continue to work abroad when sheâd much rather be with them.
The decision to move to New York was outrageously easy; her father had told her he was moving there from London to accept a teaching position at Columbia, and she knew her best friend had finally settled there too. The move timed nicely with an invitation she received to be a part of Project PliĂ©: an initiative designed to foster and support dancers of underrepresented communities by the American Ballet Theatre. Sheâs considering applying for NYUâs Master of Arts in Ballet Pedagogy program as well.
As always, Grace is far too busy dancing - and partying - to maintain any sort of stable, long-term relationship. Sure she wants one, but everyone sheâs ever been with has tried to tame her, and she has no time for that. Anyone who truly loves her will embrace her vivacity, so she flits from one short-term relationship to another. Being in New York and finally settling down for a while may bring her into contact with someone whoâs finally right for her, but sheâs not holding her breath for that. More than anything, Grace is looking forward to the opportunity to share her love and passion for ballet with young dancers who, like her, have been told they arenât right for the genre and to reconnect with her doting father and her very best friend.
Not including English, Grace speaks Hindi, Spanish, French, Italian, and a handful of other languages. Her love of them and ease in learning them are what helped strengthen her bond with Livia.
She is always, always late. Without fail. She can set four alarms and leave her apartment half an hour earlier than she has to to make her appointments, but inevitably something happens and she strolls in to her engagements fifteen to twenty minutes after she was supposed to be there.
Immediately following her stepfatherâs brutal attack on her, Grace lost hearing in her left ear. It has never fully returned and makes her chosen profession that much more difficult for her. She tends to turn her head slightly to the left when people speak to her so that she can hear properly.
Her drug of choice is movies. She can sit and watch the same movie over and over again and never get sick of it. Sheâs a bit obsessive as well; once she finds an actor she really likes, sheâll search out every movie or television episode that actor has ever done and binge watch them all.
Unlike Livia, Grace is a terrible cook. She tries so hard but never manages to make anything palatable. Even her Easy Mac is questionable at best.
Despite her carefree, wild child persona, Grace is actually quite studious. She reads all the time and never got anything less than Aâs all throughout school.
She calls her mother every birthday, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, and Ash Wednesday, but Bella never answers. Sheâs not sure if this is due to her stepfatherâs influence or Bellaâs own anger at her daughter, but it kills her even though she acts unaffected by her motherâs detachment.
Her fierce confidence, her refusal to accept anything but the utmost respect, her unerring belief in her intelligence and her talent: all of that comes from Rajah. Her father is her number one fan and greatest supporter, and he makes sure that Grace knows that heâs there for her no matter what. They have so much fun when theyâre together, and Grace misses him dearly every day sheâs away from him.
Her best friend and only confidante, Livia is the only person in the world who knows everything about Grace. They have no secrets from each other; itâs what keeps them so close. Each of them knows that the other wonât judge her for her mistakes but also wonât hesitate to tell it like it is when necessary. She hasnât seen Livia in quite a long time, and sheâs ecstatic that they live next door to each other now.
Grace Park is currently taken.
