I Gave Up Ballet Due to Psoriatic Arthritis—and Now I'm Becoming a Doctor Self 6 days ago Melissa Leeolou was 10 years old when she was dazzled by a production of The Nutcracker. She convinced her parents to let her try ballet lessons and knew she wanted to be a professional ballerina soon after her first lesson. Leeolou had already been diagnosed with severe psoriasis as a child and the plaques sometimes made it hard for her to even move. (There are several types of psoriasis, a chronic skin condition that causes discolored, itchy patches on your body. With plaque psoriasis, the patches, which vary in appearance depending on your skin color, can be very painful or tender, according to the Mayo Clinic.) But Leeolou pushed through her discomfort to dance.