Ballerina Farm

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s funny how it’s now a job to convince women that they can make homemaking their job. But no paycheck for those that buy in.

If it’s so wonderful, why is she taking to her bed for a week like the woman in The Yellow Wallpaper.

The detail about going to bed for a week is bizarre and sad as heck but tracks with other Mormon women I've known, in that they appear almost too perfect but then will come down with an illness that will take them out for a while. It happened so often to my friends and their relatives that I began to think it was stress-related. I just think the cultural expectations are impossible for them.

I swear this is what happened to Love Taza. She admittedly was depressed but I think keeping up with this happy happy facade pushed her to the brink and she had some kind of mental breakdown that led to a total online disappearance.

I really miss Taza’s content but I think that her disappearance from social may have stemmed from the departure from NYC during Covid and subsequent loss of sponsors. I think it was hard to garner the same level of sponsors away from NYC content.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

it never occurred to me that she made a mistake in choosing marriage and kids over a career. At that time the church was just constantly drilling into our heads from the time we could understand words that a woman choosing a career over marriage and kids was the epitome of selfishness and basically a sin

I was told a lot of things at home and in temple, and I questioned everything. I thought about counter-arguments, played Devil's Advocate, asked why, etc. Just because you're told something doesn't mean it's fact or that you have to believe/live it. I have a wildly different lifestyle than what was modeled to me.

I admire you, sincerely. Especially if you remained active. But what is the relevance here? The fact that there are some people like you who manage to dismiss the teachings of the church doesn’t mean a lot of women aren’t unduly pressured to make certain choices.

+1. Let's not forget she and her siblings were homeschooled by their mother. Their world was deliberately kept small. She was raised to do beauty pageants, dance, and then find a returned missionary to marry and have babies with. That's it. Hannah herself said she graduated high school not knowing the names of the planets. Think about that for a minute.

She may have been kept small, but she wasn't small when she got into Julliard (acceptance rate of 10.6%), left home at 17, and paid her own way through Julliard with the money she made in beauty pageants. She says in the Times article, “My goal was New York City. I left home at 17, and I was so excited to get there. I just loved that energy. And I was going to be a ballerina. I was a good ballerina.”

Then she meets her future husband at a party and isn't interested in dating him (she turned him down for 6 months), presumably because she was focused on her studies and ballet at Julliard, but he was a psycho stalker. She mentioned she was taking a flight from SLC to NYC (not realizing at the time who his dad was), and he made a call and was sitting next to her on the flight (after being rejected for six months), then two months later they are married (though she says in the article she wanted to date at least a year), and three months after that she's pregnant.

In other words, her plan wasn't to be a Mormon housewife popping out babies in her twenties. She was a very good dancer who moved to NYC at 17 to attend Julliard. She got derailed by a billionaire's son's really weird ideas (even for Mormons).

She finds herself in a very different life than what she had planned. All she wanted of her old life and dreams was a shed on the farm to practice ballet, which Daniel turned into a homeschool class for the kids. He avoids leaving her alone with the reporter and speaks over her throughout the interview.

The story is heartbreaking. Is she the idealization and romanticization of a "trad wife"? Do people not bother to take the time to read and understand how influencers live? Her story is beyond sad.

[Anonymous]

I don’t get all the Mormon hate and bashing on this thread. And l say this as an ex Mormon. My family is still Mormon but they didn’t cut me off or pressure me to stay. It was my choice and l decided at 19, 30 years ago. They respected my choice even though it made my mom sad for a minute. We still have a good relationship.

I never really fit in with the Mormon culture as a teenager. My mom encouraged me to study / work in a field with good earning potential and be able to support myself. There were a lot of my peers that just wanted to be SAHMs, but Mormons aren’t all the same. They are humans too.

Never thought l would be defending the Mormon church lol. I find a lot of the teachings nonsense, but l feel the same way about the Virgin Mary - it’s not a Mormon thing it’s a religion thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t get all the Mormon hate and bashing on this thread. And l say this as an ex Mormon. My family is still Mormon but they didn’t cut me off or pressure me to stay. It was my choice and l decided at 19, 30 years ago. They respected my choice even though it made my mom sad for a minute. We still have a good relationship.

I never really fit in with the Mormon culture as a teenager. My mom encouraged me to study / work in a field with good earning potential and be able to support myself. There were a lot of my peers that just wanted to be SAHMs, but Mormons aren’t all the same. They are humans too.

Never thought l would be defending the Mormon church lol. I find a lot of the teachings nonsense, but l feel the same way about the Virgin Mary - it’s not a Mormon thing it’s a religion thing.

I also left the Mormon church around the same time, and this has been my experience. My parents have a very traditional marriage, but similarly, they encouraged me to work hard at school and choose a field with good earning potential. My sister and I both have advanced degrees and work (she works full-time and remains active in the church). The Mormon religion isn't that different than Catholicism or more orthodox/conservative Judaism. I am no longer active in the church primarily because I am done with patriarchy, and I'm not willing to stick around and wait 50 more years for things to maybe get better. But as the PP said, this isn't a uniquely Mormon thing.

Also, Daniel from the Ballerina Farm is super creepy and controlling and has a lot of money to throw around. He's not representative of all LDS men.

[Anonymous]

My daughter was born in 2005 and the Mormon bloggers were numerous, prolific and well known. Beautiful photography, gorgeous children and thoughtful writing, it was all very curated, albeit in blog form. This just feels like an amped up version, consistent now with the tenor of Instagram. It's all less real. But the seeds have certainly been there for years. just significantly more over the top. Thank you for the pp who noted her julliard training was basically a dance intensive over the summer. I mean really...as a mother of a college daughter who dances, this is not the same as being " julliard trained." The whole situation is unreal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter was born in 2005 and the Mormon bloggers were numerous, prolific and well known. Beautiful photography, gorgeous children and thoughtful writing, it was all very curated, albeit in blog form. This just feels like an amped up version, consistent now with the tenor of Instagram. It's all less real. But the seeds have certainly been there for years. just significantly more over the top. Thank you for the pp who noted her julliard training was basically a dance intensive over the summer. I mean really...as a mother of a college daughter who dances, this is not the same as being " julliard trained." The whole situation is unreal.

She graduated from Juilliard with a BFA in dance in 2012. She went for a summer intensive, fell in love with it, and went back for college.

A BFA from Juilliard qualifies someone to be described as "Juilliard trained".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t get all the Mormon hate and bashing on this thread. And l say this as an ex Mormon. My family is still Mormon but they didn’t cut me off or pressure me to stay. It was my choice and l decided at 19, 30 years ago. They respected my choice even though it made my mom sad for a minute. We still have a good relationship.

I never really fit in with the Mormon culture as a teenager. My mom encouraged me to study / work in a field with good earning potential and be able to support myself. There were a lot of my peers that just wanted to be SAHMs, but Mormons aren’t all the same. They are humans too.

Never thought l would be defending the Mormon church lol. I find a lot of the teachings nonsense, but l feel the same way about the Virgin Mary - it’s not a Mormon thing it’s a religion thing.

I also left the Mormon church around the same time, and this has been my experience. My parents have a very traditional marriage, but similarly, they encouraged me to work hard at school and choose a field with good earning potential. My sister and I both have advanced degrees and work (she works full-time and remains active in the church). The Mormon religion isn't that different than Catholicism or more orthodox/conservative Judaism. I am no longer active in the church primarily because I am done with patriarchy, and I'm not willing to stick around and wait 50 more years for things to maybe get better. But as the PP said, this isn't a uniquely Mormon thing.

Also, Daniel from the Ballerina Farm is super creepy and controlling and has a lot of money to throw around. He's not representative of all LDS men.

Are you a former Utah Mormon? I have 2 former Mormon friends who sound like you, but they were raised in the Northeast. They talk about Utah Mormons like they're a totally different beast with a uniquely different culture, which makes sense to me as an outsider.

[Anonymous]

What’s all the drama with her husband giving her an egg apron when she wanted a trip to Greece?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This honestly seems like a logical transition from high level ballet training to me. For one thing, we don’t know if she was good enough at ballet to have a sustainable career, even if she wanted to. Also ballet is at least partly torture in service of a beautiful picture, which is exactly what she does now. She’s the prima ballerina of Mormon influencing. There’s nothing in this article that proves she lacks agency. It’s just a sloppy hit piece.

This is a great point.

Also: ice baths in irrigation ditches while pregnant? Whaaaaaat.

The irrigation ditches are one of the craziest things about her Instagram. They used to show the kids playing in them like they were a pool.

A post from 2018 showed a bloodied child (blood on her head) who was crawling outside on the farm and was attacked by one of their roosters. (She said they killed the rooster and they had it for dinner). But the act of someone taking a picture of her holding her bloodied baby and then posting it is repulsive to me. And numerous comments said the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter was born in 2005 and the Mormon bloggers were numerous, prolific and well known. Beautiful photography, gorgeous children and thoughtful writing, it was all very curated, albeit in blog form. This just feels like an amped up version, consistent now with the tenor of Instagram. It's all less real. But the seeds have certainly been there for years. just significantly more over the top. Thank you for the pp who noted her julliard training was basically a dance intensive over the summer. I mean really...as a mother of a college daughter who dances, this is not the same as being " julliard trained." The whole situation is unreal.

She graduated from Juilliard with a BFA in dance in 2012. She went for a summer intensive, fell in love with it, and went back for college.

A BFA from Juilliard qualifies someone to be described as "Juilliard trained".

I stand corrected. But the reality is that she did little professionally with that BFA so not surprisingly she holds on to that credential as a part of her identity but that part of her life is in the past. It was a road not taken. And unlike her peers who pursued it, who had the courage probably to do so...she did not. It's a way to perhaps stay connected to that part of her....but she seems deeply conflicted about having had to let it go. Let's be honest. Otherwise it would not continue to be quoted as a part of her life over and over again. I find it sad. Some of us have been around long enough to see through when people do this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter was born in 2005 and the Mormon bloggers were numerous, prolific and well known. Beautiful photography, gorgeous children and thoughtful writing, it was all very curated, albeit in blog form. This just feels like an amped up version, consistent now with the tenor of Instagram. It's all less real. But the seeds have certainly been there for years. just significantly more over the top. Thank you for the pp who noted her julliard training was basically a dance intensive over the summer. I mean really...as a mother of a college daughter who dances, this is not the same as being " julliard trained." The whole situation is unreal.

She graduated from Juilliard with a BFA in dance in 2012. She went for a summer intensive, fell in love with it, and went back for college.

A BFA from Juilliard qualifies someone to be described as "Juilliard trained".

I stand corrected. But the reality is that she did little professionally with that BFA so not surprisingly she holds on to that credential as a part of her identity but that part of her life is in the past. It was a road not taken. And unlike her peers who pursued it, who had the courage probably to do so...she did not. It's a way to perhaps stay connected to that part of her....but she seems deeply conflicted about having had to let it go. Let's be honest. Otherwise it would not continue to be quoted as a part of her life over and over again. I find it sad. Some of us have been around long enough to see through when people do this.

It's a huge feat for a girl from Springville, Utah (a small town outside Provo, very conservative), homeschooled with her 8 siblings, to get into Julliard. It's not a path people in her orbit were taking. It was painful to read her comments about ballet and what it meant to her to give it up. She names her social media the Ballerina Farmer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter was born in 2005 and the Mormon bloggers were numerous, prolific and well known. Beautiful photography, gorgeous children and thoughtful writing, it was all very curated, albeit in blog form. This just feels like an amped up version, consistent now with the tenor of Instagram. It's all less real. But the seeds have certainly been there for years. just significantly more over the top. Thank you for the pp who noted her julliard training was basically a dance intensive over the summer. I mean really...as a mother of a college daughter who dances, this is not the same as being " julliard trained." The whole situation is unreal.

She graduated from Juilliard with a BFA in dance in 2012. She went for a summer intensive, fell in love with it, and went back for college.

A BFA from Juilliard qualifies someone to be described as "Juilliard trained".

I stand corrected. But the reality is that she did little professionally with that BFA so not surprisingly she holds on to that credential as a part of her identity but that part of her life is in the past. It was a road not taken. And unlike her peers who pursued it, who had the courage probably to do so...she did not. It's a way to perhaps stay connected to that part of her....but she seems deeply conflicted about having had to let it go. Let's be honest. Otherwise it would not continue to be quoted as a part of her life over and over again. I find it sad. Some of us have been around long enough to see through when people do this.

The BFA is the last thing she did before she got pregnant and stopped doing anything not kid and husband centric. Its a huge part of what she identifies with before she became a mom-wife-farmer.

[Anonymous]

Disgusting to have 8 kids fend for themselves

[Anonymous]

Someone on Reddit searched the property records where they live in Kamas, Utah. Her name isn't on the Deed to the house or surrounding property. How about that? Might we also speculate that the Neeleman family had an air-tight prenup drawn up? She finishes her last year at Juliard pregnant and gives up her professional dancing career to marry a rich boy and follow his dream of living on a farm. She reported that she couldn't wait to get to NYC at 17 to attend Juliard. She loved the energy of the City. And here she is at 35, raising and homeschooling 8 kids with no nanny on a farm in Kamas, Utah, that isn't even hers. Stories like this are why I am not raising my daughter in a religion built on patriarchy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Someone on Reddit searched the property records where they live in Kamas, Utah. Her name isn't on the Deed to the house or surrounding property. How about that? Might we also speculate that the Neeleman family had an air-tight prenup drawn up? She finishes her last year at Juliard pregnant and gives up her professional dancing career to marry a rich boy and follow his dream of living on a farm. She reported that she couldn't wait to get to NYC at 17 to attend Juliard. She loved the energy of the City. And here she is at 35, raising and homeschooling 8 kids with no nanny on a farm in Kamas, Utah, that isn't even hers. Stories like this are why I am not raising my daughter in a religion built on patriarchy.

She has homeschool teachers to homeschool the kids.