Surgery posed a threat to his career. Now, this Nashville Ballet dancer returns to the stage

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Because the people on stage make it look so easy, you may not realize the full level of discipline it takes to perform ballet.

"I grew up doing Taekwondo, playing sports, baseball, basketball, all kinds of things, but nothing really stuck until I started dancing," said Brett Sjoblom, a dancer with Nashville Ballet. "It's the most athletic thing I've done in my life."

For Brett, the show being rehearsed at TPAC's Jackson Hall now is a special one; Romeo and Juliet. Five years ago, he played one of the two leads in Romeo and Juliet. It's his picture still being used in the poster.

"That's actually me and my wife," he smiled. "We started dating when we did Romeo and Juliet last time. Now, we're married."

The stage has truly given so much to Brett, and he's certainly missed it.

It was a year ago, that Brett began to feel a pain in his knee. He danced through it until he couldn't ignore it. He realized he had to have knee surgery.

"Yes, that's terrifying, but I figured this is what I have to do," Brett said. "This is my last resort. The pain was so bad if I didn't get the surgery, I would have had to stop dancing. That was not an option. It was so excruciating, I had to call it at that point."

"For the first four weeks after surgery, I was bedridden with a swollen knee," Brett continued. "I couldn't put any weight on it. I couldn't do any physical activity which was really hard. I've never been so inactive. I hated that feeling. I had to relearn how to use my knee when I was walking. I had to learn and teach myself how to go through the motions. Then, I started doing physical therapy and that really helped a lot. They helped find that mind-over-muscle coordination again. After I got the clear, I could work out and use my body again, I was going to the gym. I never wanted to feel like I was a prisoner in my body."

In a rehearsal this week for a new production of a show close to his heart, Brett told us it's time.

"This is the first show back!" he said.

He's playing Paris, the would-be fiance of Juliet.

"It's a mixture of nervousness," Brett said. "Am I going to be able to do this? I live for those moments of exhilaration. I was like, 'Yeah, I can get back on stage. I can do this again.' There's nothing really like it. It's performing on the highest level. I couldn't be happier."

Nashville Ballet's production of Romeo and Juliet is on Saturday and Sunday at TPAC. The performance will be accompanied by the Nashville Symphony.