Bolshoi Summer Dance Intensive

I first knew that I wanted to dance when I was 2 years old and I watched my mother teach ballet classes. I would dance around my house wishing to one day to become good enough to earn my pointe shoes. I would dance for my parents every night before I went to bed. I started taking dance classes at age 5 and performed my first solo at age 8. My mother wanted me to audition for Pacific Northwest Ballet at age 10, just for the experience, and I was accepted into their dance program. Even though I couldn't go, I took what I learned in the audition and applied those corrections in the classes I took at the dance studio that my mother owns.

After years of working hard, I finally bought my first pair of pointe shoes with permission from my instructors. When I started dancing on pointe, the next goal I set for myself was to be recognized by well known companies. After a year of dancing on pointe, I competed at Youth American Grand Prix (YAGP), the world’s largest youth ballet competition, in the Pre- Competitive age category. I scored high enough to be invited to YAGP’s NYC intensive, but not the YAGP finals.

The next year, I competed in the Junior age division, but unfortunately was not invited to the NYC intensive or the finals. Weeks later, I auditioned for Pacific Northwest Ballet’s summer intensive and out of the 200 dancers in my age division, I was one of the dancers they choose to invite to their intensive. A month later, I auditioned for the Northwest Dance Intensive (NDI) and was also accepted there. Ultimately I chose to go to NDI instead of PNB for the summer because of financial reasons and the fact that NDI was set up to teach us different dance skills.

When I got back, my teachers said my dancing improved, and I started training for YAGP again. This year I competed both a contemporary solo and a classical variation, and even though I scored well I was not invited to NYC once again. The day YAGP ended, I chose to audition for the Bolshoi Summer Dance Intensive. Two days after my audition I was informed that I was accepted for the Bolshoi Intensive in Connecticut. 

The Bolshio Ballet Academy Summer Intensive program is for dancers ages 9 thru 14 and designed to provide pre-professional ballet training to serious dancers.

I know that getting accepted to take classes at such a prestigious school is a rare opportunity and I feel I need to try to see how I can make this come true.

My ultimate goal is to score high enough to be in the top 12 of the YAGP competition and earn a trip to the finals in NYC and I truly believe that this Bolshoi summer intensive can help me reach my goal.  

Like my mom and the Seahawks say - you gotta believe! And I do believe - I believe in myself, I believe in the generosity of family, friends and even strangers, and I believe that if you're truly determined anything is possible!