Iliana Vera quit ballet at the age of 16, rejecting the pressures of the industry to be thin. Now, the multi-talented 30-year-old is inspiring others to love their bodies through her Instagram posts that show off her moves and curves.
"I started to explore different types of dance that gave me freedom to express myself in a body-positive way, [and] burlesque showcased my love of dance, art, music, and fashion," she told BuzzFeed in an interview.
In a post on her blog Tuesday, she thanked her over 10,000 Instagram followers for their love and support, adding: "If anything I do inspires you, or makes you feel great, I feel like I have done my job here."
Meet Vera and see some of her inspiring posts below.
Meet 30-year-old Iliana Vera, a plus-size dancer who has over 10,000 followers on Instagram.
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She started ballet lessons when she was six or seven years old but quit when she was 16 due to industry pressures to be thin.
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That doesn't mean she stopped dancing — for the last ten years she's been performing burlesque as "Frostine Shake" and redefining what it means to be sexy.
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