How My Intense Experience at Ballet West Helped Me Become a Better Dancer, Performer and Professional
Dancing with Ballet West was a hard but rewarding experience. I grew as a dancer technically, artistically and professionally. My technical skill grew as I took classes for eight hours a day, five days a week. We even danced for an additional five hours on Saturdays. I pushed my body to its physical limits in class and took every correction to heart.
Ballet West taught me to dance beyond the steps and add my own personality to the dance. I felt that my understanding of ballet grew in learning that technique includes emotion from the soul. The director gave a talk to my class and told us that when he hires dancers he is looking for someone who can add something unique to the company. As a dancer, I should be aware of the steps I am executing, but also be aware of the emotion presented throughout the dance.
I was also able to grow as a performer. We had many moments when directors or high-end staff at Ballet West came to watch our class or rehearsal. I took these moments as opportunities to perform and showcase my love for ballet. At the end of the intensive, there was a final performance. I had the opportunity to perform “Coppelia's friends” alongside my class.
I performed in a contemporary piece choreographed by Michael Waldrop. We only had a few days to prepare the contemporary piece, and it put my memorization skills to the test. I love performing and showing the joy that dance gives me. Although it was a bit stressful, it was so rewarding. The contemporary and jazz classes gave us moments to improve and learn choreography at an extremely fast pace. This helped me see what it would be like in a real dance company and how I would be expected to learn a piece of choreography.
The choreography we learned inspired me with new ideas on how I can choreograph in the future. I loved Michael Waldrop's way of choreographing and the lyrical element he added. In weekly teacher talks, we had the opportunity to ask the teachers and directors at Ballet West questions. This led me to really question how they got into their positions as teachers and what led them to their career.
Taking ballet classes always reminds me to be grateful for the body God gave me. In the long days at Ballet West, I had to rely on God for support and was reminded of His tender mercies each day. I was able to discuss BYU’s amazing dance program with the other dancers at the intensive — I think I was able to be a good influence on them. Overall, I loved my experience at Ballet West; it helped me see what a professional career as a ballerina might look like.