How old were you when you started ballet and where did you train?

          I was three when I started ballet at the local dance studio in my neighborhood in Brooklyn.  At eight, I began dancing at the Joffrey Ballet School and the Feld Ballet School, through a program very similar to our Dance Chance program here in Seattle.  When I was eleven, I was accepted to the School of American Ballet, where I trained for the next eight years.  Then I spent one year in the PD program at PNB.

    What was a typical day at SAB like including ballet and school scheduling?

          When I first started at SAB, I was going to junior high school all the way out in Brooklyn.  I would have ballet class three times a week at 4 pm in Manhattan, so my grandparents would pick me up from school at 2:30 and rush me to ballet class.  In high school, when I was in the higher levels at SAB, I had ballet class at 10:30 in the morning and then again at 2:30 in the afternoon.  I would go to school (at Professional Children's School) for two classes in the morning, then walk to SAB--it was only five blocks away--for morning ballet class, eat a quick lunch, and then walk back to school for two afternoon classes.  And then it was back to ballet for the afternoon class.

What was your first ballet and/or venture with PNB?

          When I first started the PD program at PNB, the company was doing a Subscriber's Choice program, which included many big corps ballets.  I was lucky enough to perform in Ballet Imperial, Serenade, and Stars and Stripes (and I was also learning The Four Temperaments and Cinderella). It was a whirlwind of a start for me!

What is your favorite ballet you have performed?

          Some of my favorite ballets that I have performed are Concerto Barrocco, Swan Lake, and Emeralds.

     Have you ever been injured? If so, what and how long did it take you to come back?

       A little over two years ago I broke my ankle during Nutcracker.  I had to have surgery to fix the fracture and had screws put in my ankle.  I was off for about a year.  I worked very hard to strengthen and return to dancing.  I danced (and returned to performing) for the next four months, but there was this constant, intense pain in my ankle that never went away.  The doctors finally realized that one of the screws was rubbing on my tendon, and that it had actually torn my tendon.  So, about a year after the first surgery, I had my second surgery to remove the irritating screw and repair the tendon.  I couldn't dance for another five months.  This time, though, there wasn't any unforeseen complication and I was able to return to dancing fully.  The second time, it took me about three months (after the five months off) to return to dancing.  Now, over two years from the initial ankle fracture, I finally feel healed.  And that is a great feeling.  

If you could give advice about taking care of an injury to a young dancer, what would that be?

 
    It is important to listen to your body because you know it better than anyone else.  A doctor and physical therapist you trust are crucial to injury recovery.  Above all, you need a strong emotional support network.  Recovering from an injury is difficult--physically and mentally--and it takes a lot of hard work, sacrifice, and perseverance outside of ballet class to get better.  However, the reward that comes when you finally get back to class makes all those hours spent in physical therapy and doing your exercises worth it! 

You have taken many school classes in addition to your career. Please describe how you are able to fit everything into your schedule. What has been the hardest and most rewarding about doing that?

    Through PNB's Second Stage program, we bring teachers from Seattle University into PNB to teach the dancers.  We hold school classes in the PNB board room once a week at the end of our workday from 7:15- 9:30 pm.  I squeeze in homework wherever and whenever I can--in between rehearsals, lunch breaks, weekends, etc.  The most rewarding thing about school is seeing all that hard work pay off.  For me, this means an accumulation of credits--I'm about to start my second class as a sophomore, which is very exciting.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

          Ten years from now I hope to have received my bachelor's degree and have read Tolstoy's "War and Peace."

What is one personal thing that people may not know about you?

          I love British murder mystery movies.