Ballet Beyond Louisiana: Little Fish in a Big Pond…Just Keep Swimming

Ballet Beyond Louisiana: Little Fish in a Big Pond…Just Keep Swimming

I recently posted on my social media about my daughter Stella’s ballet accomplishments, and certainly did not expect the overwhelming congratulations and support. You see, I don’t post her audition acceptances to brag about how amazing she is (although I’m her mom, so, of course, I think she’s amazing!)…I post because she doesn’t always get the recognition that other teenagers in her age group do in sports. I also post because it has become my mission to share our journey in this artistic adventure, living in a region where jamming to accordion music whilst sipping a frozen daiquiri is more normal than pursuing ballet. People are curious about the passion she pours into it. 

Stella was in Kindergarten when she began taking ballet class once a week with Lafayette Ballet Theatre. I didn’t grow up in consistent dance classes. Still, I had strong feelings about wanting a ballet-specific curriculum because I could remember a very brief time as a child taking ballet and seeing the Nutcracker. I remember the way I felt in those moments and wanted my daughter to at least experience that feeling. The closest ballet school to my home was about 45 minutes away, so it wasn’t something my mom could commit to in the long term. How lucky was I to have access to a ballet school less than 5 miles from my home as a mom? 

She danced with LBT for nine years and experienced wonderful growth. From her first role in the Nutcracker as an Angel to being cast as Clara, she loved every year, working diligently in her technique classes and then applying the movements and artistry in full-length ballet performances. The Nutcracker is really just an appetizer to the main course of experiencing other full-length ballets like The Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Coppelia, to name a few.

Somewhere along the way, we started to branch out from ballet locally. I know that, for Stella, experiencing New York City Ballet’s 2021 performance of The Nutcracker finally made her realize that what she performed locally was closely aligned with the work of the professional dancers she admired.

The following year, she began her training in ballet programs beyond Lafayette.

I never want to be the stereotypical dance mom, but I also realized that for a child, I had to do a lot of the heavy lifting for her: scheduling auditions, mapping out the travel, booking the lodging, completing the registration forms, oh, and paying the tuition 😉 I try to make my role supportive so this journey feels like it’s hers.

Our first ballet adventure was to San Antonio for a winter workshop with retired principal dancers from Pacific Northwest Ballet. After a few training trips, Stella was ready to audition for what’s known in the ballet world as ‘summer intensives.’

The typical duration of a summer intensive program is five weeks and may include dorm housing. Dancers usually participate in daily ballet, pointe, variations, contemporary, and body conditioning classes as part of their schedules. They can attend various outings, such as going to the movies, shopping trips, or ballet performances by the affiliated professional company, if they are not on summer break. Yes, you could say it’s like summer camp for ballet. But it’s really so much more than that. 

Stella’s first five-week summer intensive was in 2024 at the School of American Ballet, which is New York City Ballet’s affiliated school. Again, of course, I think my daughter is special because she is MY daughter, but I knew auditions for this particular program were quite competitive. I think they take 2% of the dancers who audition. I forgot the statistic. 

When she was accepted, we were both shocked and overwhelmed with excitement. We spent months preparing for this. She had been to summer camp before, but only for two weeks. Could she make it 5 weeks without us AND do her own laundry and navigate NYC at 13?!

Flash forward: She had the best summer of her life, and I don’t think I can even put into words what that experience meant to her.

We watched her in parent observation classes, which began my education in understanding the teacher-dancer relationship and the progression of artistic growth. Young dancers thrive in immersive experiences, allowing them to explore the next level of their artistry. 

When she came back to Lafayette, we recapped the summer and what she wanted to do next in her journey. This is when we started having serious conversations about her desire to pursue pre-professional training and chase an uncommon dream. And, that it might take her away from home much sooner than her friends in a traditional high school. It was a choice she was ready to make. 

Since that summer, she’s had the opportunity to train twice with the Royal Ballet School in London, once with Miami City Ballet, and, most recently, to commit to Houston Ballet Academy for the past year. It’s not traditional, but we have been able to provide her with access to advance her training while keeping her close to home. Yes, I’m a little tired of the trek down I-10. Still, we know there may come a time when she is farther from us before the college-age years, so this year has been a pivotal one for growing in independence, learning certain life skills, and building a network of others to help her on this path. It’s been a lot to digest at 15, but it’s the reality for young dancers serious about this path.

Audition season has arrived for both summer and year-round pre-professional programs. It has been a whirlwind: almost every weekend in January and February was filled with auditions. Some were pre-planned, and others were surprise opportunities of personal invitations to attend, including a week-long international audition. There have been a lot of pre-professional program acceptance offers, but also a lot of family conversations about what’s the right fit for us, whether it’s related to age, timing, or finances. There is a saying in the ballet world that ‘all you need is one yes,’ when it comes to acceptance, and while that’s true to a degree, we’ve also had to decline a few offers. It stinks, but we believe the right thing is coming her way, and that keeping up the hard work and pushing personal boundaries outweighs any ‘luck’ people may perceive going in her favor. 

Summer is shaping up to be another exciting time away in New York, back at SAB, and what makes this summer even more special is being recognized as a scholarship recipient. It is a joy and honor for Stella; she has never been recognized in this capacity before. We don’t know what the next step is this fall, but all that matters is the here and now, and remembering that progress and this journey are not linear. This year, she was accepted to all eight programs she auditioned for, and while that’s exciting, there are no guarantees that the same results will hold year to year. 

I can’t remember how old she was when I realized that she wasn’t just going to ballet class to have fun, but because it’s what she loves. 

When girls are little, ballet is all about pink slippers and fluttery skirts. As they grow, moms will experience frustration with assembling a perfect bun that pleases their dancer, only to pick them up from class with a pile of hairpins because the bun hurts their head. I remember I couldn’t wait for the day when I wouldn’t have to make the bun anymore. It comes sooner than you think, but it doesn’t make me sad to long for those little dancer days. It makes me proud and honored to be walking alongside this journey with her. 

I don’t speak the language or understand the struggles, but I try my best. I find others to help Stella when she needs support and create a community that gets what she’s going through. Pointe shoe purchase, nutrient-dense meals, physiotherapy appointments, pilates…. It’s all the extra things. I can help with the extra things. I can help provide an environment that encourages growth. After all, isn’t growth what I signed up for, anyway, with the title of ‘mother’ in general? It just looks a little different in this season of life, and I’ll keep helping as long as she wants to chase her dream.

We talk a lot about how this journey is a struggle no matter where you live, but it’s especially a struggle here. A teacher once told me that Louisiana is a ‘dance desert’ for ballet dancers. The opportunities are dried up, and there’s no water to help it grow. Maybe one day she will have the opportunity to pour back into local dancers who want what she did when she was their age, closer to home. Until then, I’ll keep encouraging her to bloom where she’s planted.