About Me

Hi guys! Thank you for visiting my blog. Most of you probably have already realized that it’s all about ballet and what’s going on in the ballet world. I never really mentioned why the ballet world holds a special place in my heart. Therefore, I thought today would be a good time to share with you why I am so passionate about ballet.

I started ballet at the age of two and a half. I was the youngest student at my dance school. My mom was eager to sign me up for lessons even though the class description said “for ages four and up.” The owner of Movement Dance Academy said that I could take the class as long as I stayed in the room for the entire class and was potty trained. My mom thought I could meet both of these requirements so she signed me up.

On the first day of class I was a little nervous because I was the youngest (according to my mom, since I was only two and a half). It was a combination class that consisted of ballet, tap, and jazz. The teacher allowed her to stay in class with me and do the exercises in the back of the room. This helped me to feel more comfortable. Within a few weeks, I was ready to conquer class on my own and no longer wanted my mom coming in with me.

I continued to take dance lessons in ballet, tap, and jazz, until I was nine. Instead of taking one class a week, I was taking five or six classes. When I reached age nine, I became much more interest in ballet. The dance school that I was going to was not that focused on ballet. Therefore, I decided to switch dance schools. I started attending the Academy of Dance Arts in Red Bank, New Jersey. The training at this school was centered around ballet. I took about twelve ballet classes a week, a modern class, and a jazz class. Here I would perform in the Nutcracker for the first time. Between the ages of nine and twelve I performed in numerous ballet with the Academy of Dance Arts. Some of the ballets included Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Don Quixote, and Swan Lake.

At age twelve I auditioned for the Joffrey Ballet School Summer Intensive in New York City. After attending the summer intensive that summer, the artistic director invited me to join the trainee program. Students attending the trainee program take ballet classes all day and do online academics. I was not ready to do online classes and leave my middle school. Therefore, I took after school classes at the school. Joffrey’s training was even more intensive since it was located in New York City. New York City is known for some of the best ballet schools in the world.

I continued to train at Joffrey for a little over three years. During the years that I attended Joffrey, I attended summer intensives with The Harid Conservatory, Miami City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Bolshoi Ballet Academy, and School of American Ballet. At Joffrey I had a very good Russian ballet teacher. I became extremely interested in the Russian style of ballet so she recommended that I audition for the Valentina Kozlova Dance Conservatory in New York City. Valentina danced with the Bolshoi Ballet Company and was known as being one of the best Russian ballet teachers in New York City.

After having a private audition with Valentina, I was accepted into her school. From the age of around fifteen and a half to eighteen I trained under her direction and three other Russian ballet teachers. Her training was very strict and she trained students with the intent to help them become professional. While I was attending Joffrey I continued to perform in the Nutcracker and other ballets in New York City. When I started taking classes at Valentina’s school, she began training me for the Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP). The YAGP is the largest ballet competition in the world. It was a nerve wracking competition, but also very rewarding. I had the opportunity to compete in the YAGP three times. Competing in a competition as prestigious as the YAGP is something I will never forget.

As senior year of high school approached, I had to make a really difficult decision. Would I audition for ballet companies or apply to colleges? I loved ballet, but one injury can cause your career to end. Also, education is so important in today’s society. I decided to apply to colleges and hang up my pointe shoes. Even though I no longer do ballet, I did it for fifteen and a half years of my life. Ballet will always be a part of me. I have been through almost any audition you could imagine, performed in so many different ballets, and competed in the world’s largest ballet competition. I have an abundance of knowledge about ballet and hope to share some of it with you through my blog. Sorry for the long post. I promise to keep the next ones much shorter. Don’t forget to check back in a few days to see what’s happening in the ballet world!