Ballet has always been a big part of my life. Ever since the age of three, ballet has been my obsession. My mom says that around age six, when all the other little girls started to quit and do soccer and other sports, I kept going. And going. And going. Now at age 14, I am still doing ballet. Its been 11 years.

When I first started to dance, I was at a tiny studio in a little town right outside of Boston. At around age 7, my mom realized that I was going to continue dancing, so she moved me to a larger studio in a nearby town. The studio was still small, but my teacher there made my love for dance grow. At the time, I was also doing gymnastics and soccer. I remember my mom saying to me soon after I joined that studio, “You need to choose. You can do soccer and gymnastics, or just ballet.” It was a big decision for a child as young as me, but I did choose ballet.

I continued to dance, happily, and carelessly about four days a week after school. I thought I was a pro. My teacher saw me improving, and soon, I was dancing with 16 year olds when I was only 9. I was one of the best in my studio.

One day, around the holiday season, my ballet teacher told me about this amazing summer program at Boston Ballet. I was only 11 and I remember being surprised that there was even an option to dance during the summer! I quickly told my mom about the opportunity and she agreed that it would be good for me to audition for it.

In ballet, January and February are audition season for summer intensives all over the world. Usually, about 500-1000 people will audition for a major program, and only about 200 will get in. It is a lot of work to get in, but if accepted, all that hard work pays off!

When the time for the audition came, I was totally nervous! I still remember walking into the huge Boston studio and being in awe at how amazing the studios looked. The audition was huge and there were so many girls my age all auditioning for the same program. And not to mention that they were holding auditions all over the world! But as the audition began, my nerves melted away and I danced because I loved to. About a month after the audition, I got the amazing news that I got in! I was ecstatic! I really didn’t believe I had what it took to make it into a professional ballet school summer program!

The summer program was indescribable! The five week summer intensive was challenging, but so much fun, too! There were so many amazing teachers and the ballet training was perfect for me! All the other girls in my level were so nice and were at the same level as me! I just felt at home during the summer program. In fact, I felt so at home that when one of my main teachers asked me to audition for the Boston Ballet school, I accepted the offer. After learning that I was accepted to the school, I knew that I was going to go to Boston Ballet. All my friends from the summer would be there, and even though I felt regret about leaving my old studio, I knew that if I wanted to actually become a professional ballet dancer, I would need to go to a professional ballet school.

Today, I am still dancing with Boston Ballet, but I am now in the Pre Professional program. This is an audition only program that trains kids to become professional ballet dancers- but that is a totally different story. Now I am dancing 6 days a week after school for two and a half hours to six hours a day. It is an intense schedule, but I love it so much! I don’t know what I would do without ballet, and I know that I will continue to dance for the rest of my life.