Branching Out

My stubborn refusal to try any dance outside of ballet has finally been broken down.  This ballerina is going to take a jazz class.
Maybe I've never attempted anything else out of fear.  Ballet is my comfort zone.  I love the structure of barre, the exactness of every movement, the beauty of it's lines.  Other dance forms offer more freedom of expression.  I guess that appeals to a lot of people, but it almost scares me.
I'm also biased.  In my opinion, ballet is the best kind of dancing that has yet to be matched by modern, hip hop, or anything else.  It's history, traditions, purity, music, and pointe work make it captivating.  Not that I don't appreciate other styles for what they are.  Nor am I under the illusion that they're easy.  I'm sure I'll find jazz to be difficult as I suffer through looking like an awkward beginner.
I've read in magazines and heard from wise teachers that participating in another form of dance can boost performance in ballet.  Yeah, I'm sure that works for other people I would think.  Then I'd convince myself that my single-minded approach was working.  In all honesty I was being a coward, and whenever I heard this advice I worried that maybe I really was missing out on something.
So in a couple weeks I'm going to take my first jazz class.  Yikes!!!! I'm probably going to be stiff from approximately seven years of rigid ballet training.  This is definitely going to be a stretch for me that's not going to feel good at first.
Even if it doesn't help my ballet there's another benefit that could come out of this.  The class I'm taking offers the opportunity to perform in shows, which would give me stage experience.  Something I'm severely lacking in I hate to admit.  That will not only be extremely valuable, but fun as well.  And I get to take this class with my sister, who is an awesome jazz dancer by the way.  Oh yeah that reminds me, just to add to the discomfort most people in the class have already been in jazz for a while now.  I really hope this is a good idea.