Audition Season--How to Stand Out in a Crowd

I have teamed up with Ballet in Cleveland, and this summer we will be presenting our very own Summer Dance Intensive called artÉmotion!   I am beyond thrilled to offer this amazing opportunity for young dancers to work with some of best names in the business!  The Faculty, along with Jessica Wallis (Founder of BIC) and myself, includes Ballet West Principal Artist Rex Tilton, Ballet West Artist Director Adam Sklute, BalletNext Artistic Director and Former American Ballet Theatre Principal Michele Wiles, Amelia Lowe of SYTYCD Season 9, Jordan DeBona Actor at the Pioneer Theatre, and Inna Stabrova co-founder of the Ohio Conservatory of Ballet.  Jessica Wallis and I designed this program with the goal to help mold beautiful Artists for the next generation of dance!  Our motto at artÉmotion is, “No movement without a purpose, without a unique story.”

Classes will not only include ballet, pointe and classical partnering, but also contemporary, character and acting for dancers.  I really want students to walk away from the experience with a sense of self.  Not just technique but a realization of their artistry and self-contribution to our beautiful art form.

With all that being said, I have received many questions about what I will be looking for in students to accept to artÉmotion.  It is officially “audition season” and I know many young dancers want the edge against their peers when in a room full of talented dancers.  I have said it before, I value a strong technique because that is what sets classical dancers apart from anyone else, but for me, that is not the only thing that makes a strong Artist.  I will be looking for individuals who are willing to push themselves, take chances and doing something different.  Stand alone in room full of people and be confident. 

Many of you may ask how that can be done.  Well, here is what I’ve always thought about and chose to do before and during an audition.  First off, chose a leotard, or shirt if you’re a guy, which makes you feel really good!!!  Being confident in how you look always helps when you are trying to make an impression on someone else.  You will not appear to be confident to someone in the front of the room, if in fact you don’t feel confident in yourself!  Second, make sure you take pride in your appearance.  Have your hair done well and make sure your shoes look clean and well put together. 

Now, to the dancing!  Try to be as alert as possible! Learn all the combinations quickly and well.  That will make for a very good corps de ballet member and you will be of value to any company or school!  Don’t try to mimic anyone in the room.  From the first port de bras at the barre, choose a story in your head to portray.  You are not just doing steps.  In an audition it’s hard to gauge how a dancer may be on stage, so as the dancer, you must consider that audition room a stage!  Show the person in the front of the room what makes you special.  Lastly, if you make a mistake be OK with it and keep moving!  I know we all make mistakes, what matters most to me is how you recover from those mistakes.  It shows maturity.

I hope this all helps in one way or another.  I hope to see many of you at artÉmotion!

Visit www.balletincleveland.org/artemotion for more info!  Auditions will be in Cleveland, OH January 18^th but we are also accepting video submissions for dancers who cannot make it in person!

You can also follow artÉmotion on social media!

The artÉmotion Summer Intensive on Facebook

@artemotioncle on Twitter and Instagram

Love you all! Xoxox

Allison

Summer Programs! Post your progress in #ArtWithAlli

Summer Programs—What you learned!

We are nearing the end of July and that means Summer Program madness is almost over!  Being at a summer program can mean quite a few things for every dancer.  With summer programs comes growth, fun, frustration, setbacks, and sometimes, a lot of pain!! For many dancers heading to summer programs for the first time often means it’s the first time they will being dancing all day!  This is challenging both physically and mentally.  They are often away from their families for the first time, too! Getting into your dream summer program is also a very big accomplishment for every young dancer, but there are some dancers who may not have the means to go away from home to summer programs.  However, they stay at their studios all summer and take classes from guest teachers.  Either way, summer programs should be approached as a time for extreme growth in your dancing, at any age.

I have told you this before, I did not go away for a summer program until I was 18 and a high school graduate.  I went to the ABT New York program.  I had auditioned for summer programs when I was younger, and did get in, but chose not to go because I wanted to spend time with my family in the summertime.  I just enrolled at my studio’s summer program.  I have fond memories of guest teachers who made a huge impact in my dancing.  I always liked training in the summers because it was the only time of the year where I could focus only on dancing because I did not have to worry about school, too.  I also loved being at the studio all day.  Taking ballet, jazz, modern, character, acting, pointe shoe and makeup seminars and stretch class! 

This summer I have traveled across the country to teach students ballet.  I was in Louisiana, Illinois, Utah and California so far. One thing I notice among the students is, it is hard to motivate them to dance outside of their comfort zones and deviate from what they are used to doing.  If any of you have ever taken class from me, you know that I preach a few consistent things.  First, be smart dancers.  Everyone is a good dancer now a days, so to set you a part from someone else you must be mentally sharp.  Learn combinations quickly, pickup on details of the entire body, and take corrections well.  Second, remember the studio is a safe place.  It is the arena to grow and make mistakes.  Fall on the ground, jump higher, and hold your leg up a little longer.  Everyone in the class is there for the same reason, to grow. Be confident and do not be shy about your dancing.  And last, tell me a story!! Remember you are an Artist above all.  I like to see my students working on their artistry from the beginning of class. It does not come out of nowhere.  You have to approach everything you do as if there is an audience watching.

I thought it would be cool, for Art with Alli, if everyone would post pictures from the summer program they attended this summer.  Tell us who your favorite teachers are and what you have learned so far.  It would be nice to see what everyone is up to and see if they have learned something different from you!  Be sure to post in the Art with Alli Forum and post on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook using #artwithall.  Be sure to tag @artwithalli and @allidebona.  I can’t wait to see what you are all up to!

I will be sharing posts on my @artwithalli Instagram and Twitter accounts, so be sure you are following those accounts!!

Link to the Art With Alli Forum--   http://artwithalli.freeforums.net/

xoxo

Allison

                                         Photo by Vicki Lanz Photography for Ballet in Cleveland.

ART--A Random Thought with Allison DeBona

 So, here’s a thought—

 

When was the last time you sat down, took a good look in the mirror and asked yourself, “Why am I dancing?”  Is it because you love it? I’ll believe you, but it sounds generic.  I definitely love to dance and always have (I’ll admit I still dance around the kitchen the way I did when I was a kid!), but the older I get, the more it evolves into an understanding of why I’m still dancing at the age of 30. 

I’ve been asked many times when I knew I wanted to dance.  I was six or seven years old and taking a class when our teacher asked us to run across the room, stop in the middle of the floor, pretend to pick up a flower and put it in a basket.  It was true love from that moment on.  At that young age, I began to understand that dance is ART.  We have the amazing gift to tell a story with our bodies, and I cannot get enough of it. 

I am currently a Soloist with Ballet West in Salt Lake City, but when I’m not dancing, I spend a lot of time traveling around the country teaching young dancers.  There are talented kids everywhere!  Dance is evolving so fast, the technique is more difficult, and you’re required to do multiple turns, jump higher and battement to the sky.  I appreciate all of those things, but for me, that is not what defines a great ARTIST.  In class I am always working toward improving my technique and physical abilities, but it seems to me that today young dancers are so focused on quantity that the artistry of our craft is often lost.


Over the next 12 months, I am going to challenge you.  Ask yourself questions you’ve never asked before and push your mind and body to places you’ve never taken it before.  The great part about it is, you will not be alone!  This month I want you to explore your motivation for dancing and your contribution to our art form.  How are you planning on moving an audience to tears or make them jump to their feet with applause?  What will make you stand out on stage so people can’t take their eyes off you? 

To break the ice, I will be the first to post in “ART—A Random Thought with Allison DeBona,” Forum. You can visit the link below to see what I have to say and post your thoughts and ideas as well!  I would also love to see your journey each month on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook!  Post pictures, videos or quotes but make sure to use #artwithalli on all of your posts!  It’s never too early to start to develop the Artist you plan to be on stage!  I can’t wait to see what all of you have to offer!

 

Xoxo Allison

http://artwithalli.freeforums.net/

A Confident Post-- Revisiting Paquita

Definition of confidence (n)
1. Belief in own abilities: self-assurance or a belief in your ability to succeed


There it is boys and girls.  Webster's definition of CONFIDENCE.  It's empowering just reading it, isn't it?  For some people confidence comes easy and for others it does not.  I am a confident person, but I have definitely had my bouts with confidence as a professional ballerina.  Did you happen to catch what I was just saying there?  I wrote, "I am a confident PERSON, but I have definitely had my bouts with confidence as a PROFESSIONAL BALLERINA."  It should be one in the same, but I've learned the hard way that sometimes as a performer it's not that easy.  Here's to revisiting Paquita and what I've learned from falling on my face in front of America.

I always say 99% of being a ballerina is mind over matter and I really mean it.  We train hours upon hours for years of our lives to gain the technique and strength.  Somewhere in our computer of a brain is the hardware to get the job done.  When I joined Ballet West in 2007 I was confident in myself and was ready to work as hard as I could to get roles that I desired.  Even when I was not chosen for a role, or when I understudied everything for two entire years, I never wavered in thinking that it was only temporary and I was going to get my chance one day.  Once Paquita rolled around I had already been given quite a few amazing opportunities and had been promoted to Demi-Soloist at Ballet West.  I was also cast to dance the Principal role in George Balanchine's Emeralds and the 5th Duet in Yiri Kylian's Petite Mort.  What more could a girl ask for?  Before Paquita was cast I had learned the first, second and fourth Soloist variations.  Although they were technically challenging, I was able to do all three.  I thought that I had proven that I could do them and I'd love the chance to dance Paquita on stage, but if I didn't get cast I wouldn't be upset because I was doing so much already and was thankful.  During a run of the variations Adam Sklute (BW's Artistic Director) called me over and said that I was cast to do Paquita!  He then proceeded to tell me that he would like to see me in the third variation.  I thought I heard him wrong.  I hadn't been asked to learn the third variation and in my mind it was for a short girl who was cute and could move fast.  He said something to the regards of, "You could do the other three, so I'm assuming you can do this one, too."  I remember my stomach sinking.  It was never a role that I had envisioned myself doing well and it definitely didn't fit my personality, in my eyes.  It was such a strange place to be in.  Usually, as a dancer, if you don't get an opportunity you spend so much time trying to prove to your boss that you can do it, but here I was getting all the confidence in the world from my boss and was trying to prove to myself that he was right. 

I'm always watching other people's rehearsals and learn their steps even when sitting on the floor.  I wanted to be in every rehearsal with Elena Kunikova because I wanted to learn as much from her as I possibly could during Paquita.  She asked me to run the 3rd variation even though she hadn't taught it to me and I said I could because I learned it from watching.  Then, she asked me to join the other Soloists and Corps in the opening dance and in rushed the Breaking Pointe cameras.  They were literally up my nose!  I was new, never learned that spot, and they recorded me messing up every two seconds.  Remember the episode where Elena was stopping me every two seconds? I all of a sudden felt a pressure to succeed like I had never felt before.  There was Adam telling me he could depend on me even though I was feeling so unconfident. To top it off, it was all transpiring in front of the world (literally).  All I can remember is falling down a downward spiral.  I would be on cloud nine running Emeralds and Petite Mort and then wanted to be sick putting on a tutu to run Paquita.  I got in my head.  I'd mess something up and let it bring me down to the point of tears.  Even if it went well, it wasn't good enough for me. 

Opening night I was nervous and had to talk to myself to calm down before the curtain went up.  I remember the opening dance feeling great and I thought, "Ok! I'm going to do to this!"  My family was in the audience for support.  I came out for my variation and the music started....the rest is, well, on Season 1 Episode 5 of Breaking Pointe.  A MESS.  It was an out of body experience and I couldn't wait to get off stage.  I remember barely trying to muster up a smile during my bow.  I had to suck it up because we had an entire finale to dance and I couldn't blow that, too.  After that night I spent a year struggling with my confidence.  I fell on my face (figuratively and literally) a few times after that night, too.  What was happening to me?  I had to re-evaluate my approach to working in the studio and rebuild my confidence that had been drained.  This past summer, I taught a lot and traveled a lot.  I took those opportunities to dance in as many different places as I could.  I spent two weeks taking open classes at Alonso King's Lines in San Francisco and that was when a lot in my mind began to change.  I was dancing because I loved it and loved to work hard.  I was doing things I thought I couldn't do in those classes.  Pushing myself to not be afraid of falling on my face, but learning to fall with grace, because sometime kids, you're going to fall on your face! Sometimes when you mess up something on stage it feels like it lasts a lifetime.  I went back and watched videos of when I royally messed up on stage.  The mess up moment was quick, but what lingered was my demeanor after the mess up.  This past year I learned how to be a performer through my mistakes.  I had to accept that sometimes things are not going to go well on stage, and although my bosses and peers may notice those technical fouls the audience is focused on my artistry.  I try to control a lot of things, so messing up really isn't something I handle well, but I had to learn to.  The lifetime on stage as professional dancers isn't very long and if you spend all your time dwelling on the bad then you will miss all the wonderful opportunities and experiences.  I'm thankful for sharing my hardships with everyone who watched Breaking Pointe because I hope that some young dancers learn that you may fall down but you won't stay there.  I also learned not to type cast myself because there are already enough limitations in our little artsy world, so why apply more to yourself?  Accept any role as a chance to grow as a technician but more importantly as an artist.  I hope I get to do Paquita again in my life, because I can't wait to kick its butt!!! 

Xoxo
Allison

How to Sew Pointe Shoes

How to Sew Pointe Shoes


Hey everyone!!! If any of you have been following Me the past few weeks, you would know that I have been traveling and doing A LOT of teaching! I was in Pittsburgh teaching for four different schools and in Cleveland to teach Master Classes and dance in a Gala for Ballet in Cleveland with Rex Tilton and Christopher Ruud.  One question that seemed to pop up everywhere I taught was, "How do you sew your pointe shoes?"  I'm here to answer your questions!

If you ask any professional ballerina I'm sure they will tell you that how you prepare your pointe shoes is a very personal matter.  It takes a lot of time and planning to get your shoes the way you want them to feel and look.  If you do not know, I wear Grishko 2007 shoes with a few "specs" or special changes to make them perfect for me.  For example, I get the vamp and heel cut down a bit, with a medium shank and heel pin, xxx width and three quarter shanked.  I also do a few things at home to my pointe shoes like glue the toes and shank and cut a divot in the sole of the shoe where my arch is.  Obviously, it would be very hard to try to explain in words how I sew my shoes, so this Saturday will you join me on YouTube for a tutorial on how to sew pointe shoes the way I do??? 

I will be making a YouTube video this week that will show you step-by-step how I sew my shoes and how I prepare them to wear for rehearsals and performances.  I invite all young dancers and their mothers so that they understand, too.  I was surprised to hear from so many moms this week about how they wish they were taught how to properly sew shoes, too.  Here is a list of things you will definitely need for Saturday.

• Your Pointe Shoes
• 2 Needles (in case one snaps)
• Waxed dental floss in white (Yes! It's the strongest thread you can find and it's cheap!)
• Clean ribbon and elastic
• Scissors

My YouTube channel is Allison DeBona.  As soon as I post the video I will post it on my Twitter and Instagram accounts (allidebona) and my Facebook page Allison DeBona Breaking Pointe.  If you have any questions you can leave a message on the video and I will answer them as soon as I can.  I can't wait until Saturday! See you then!

xoxo

 

Allison

The Great "Weight" Debate: The Ballet Body

The Great “Weight” Debate:  The Ballet Body

 

I’m sitting here trying to start this blog and already feel torn over what I am going to say about how to achieve the perfect “ballet body.”  The thing about the subject is I’ve got so many questions asking, “How can I get skinny for ballet?” or “I’m having weight issues, can you help?”  It already nerves me thinking about answering them because majority of the time they come from very young girls, typically 13-17 years old.  My blood actually starts to boil as I read them because I’m thinking to myself, how can a child actually be worrying about this?  Unfortunately, in our beautiful art form, how we look sometimes overpowers artistry and talent.  I am obviously not a doctor, but I am a high performance athlete who has managed to steer clear from any serious injury thus far in my professional career.  I attribute that to not only my physical activity but also my diet; and I don’t mean “diet” in the fashion magazine quick way to lose 10lbs way, I mean actually what I eat for nutrition to stay healthy.  I would like you to stop thinking about things in terms of getting “skinny” for ballet, but getting “healthy” for ballet.

 

I am going to be careful what I say here, because I do not want to offend anyone and I do not want to steer any young child who is reading this in the wrong direction.  People ask me about how I eat all time.  I reply that I do not really constrict myself from much and I get the old response of, “Well, you’re just lucky you have that body naturally.”  I could not disagree with that statement more.  I’ll tell you about the many “bodies” I have gone through in my 30yrs of life.  I was a string bean as a kid. When I turned 15 my body completely changed.  I grew to be 5’9” and I started to gain weight for the first time in my life.  If you’ve read my previous blog, you would know that during that time I was not dancing full time.  I had taken time off.  When I went back to ballet is when I started to become very VERY aware of how my body looked. It was when I was 17, turning 18 that I decided to go on my very first “diet.”  I thought I knew it all.  It was when the Atkins thing was taking off and I thought to myself it would be the perfect way to lose the 10-15 extra teenage baby pounds. I almost completely cut out all carbs from my diet.  The only carbs I was really eating were from vegetables.  Everything was going great at first; I lost weight fast and my muscle tone was really starting to show.  It wasn’t too long before I noticed that my energy levels were becoming low and I started to get very bad tendonitis in my Achilles, which I never had before.  It was opening week of the Nutcracker at my school and I was to be dancing the role of Sugar Plum Fairy.  My teacher flew in a professional male dancer from Ballet Arizona to be my partner.  We were in rehearsal and I remember telling my mom that I felt like my Achilles was a rubber band.  The next thing I knew, I felt a sharp and very hot pain in my leg.  I had torn where my calf and Achilles meet. 

 

The doctor was surprised that someone as young as me would sustain such an injury.  He started asking me questions and when he got to the bottom of it, he told me that a large part in the breakdown of my body was that I was not fueling it properly for the amount of physical activity I was doing.  NO CARBS was A VERY BAD IDEA.  After my injury I started to eat a well-rounded diet and felt great!  Then, I left for college the next year.  Freshman 15? That would have been nice, try freshman 25 for me!  I ate like crap, to be frank.  Pizza late at night and Snickers for a snack from the vending machine.  I was in college on my own for the first time and didn’t have much money.  It wasn’t until I was 23 and at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre that I finally started to figure out how to treat my body well.  I made two very major decisions— I was cutting out fried foods and cutting out alcohol (for all of you who are over 21 years old and up).  I started eating small portions of food, but at least six times a day, and was very religious about taking a multi-vitamin and B-Complex.  For the past 7 years of my life, I have really not changed how my body looks or my weight much.  I have figured out how to maintain a healthy and strong body for ballet through healthy eating and moderation.

 

So here are my thoughts.  If you are a young girl or boy reading this, you have absolutely no business depriving your body of anything.  A “diet” shouldn’t ever be in your vocabulary.  You can, however, start learning how to eat healthy to maintain an athlete’s body.  You will obviously need your parent’s help, but for example;  instead of eating french fries at school for lunch, consider packing your lunch with a nice turkey sandwich and some fruit and veggies.  It’s also OK to eat ice cream and pizza with your friends, but you don’t have to be excessive.  I truly believe that moderation is key.  One awful trend that I have seen from teaching around the country is being in front of a herd of 13 year old kids and halfway through barre struggling to get them to respond to combinations let alone get through them.  I always ask if they have had breakfast, and more often than not, I hear “NO.”  Breakfast is the most important meal of the day because it jump starts your metabolism and gives you energy for the day!  Try eating some scrambled eggs with cheese and avocado or oatmeal like I do EVERYDAY. 

Another problem I see is young students are not taught how to “snack” between classes and rehearsals.  I do not mean cookies and cakes.  I would suggest bringing some crackers or fruits and veggies with ranch to have on breaks.  It keeps you energized in the body but also the brain!  I always drink a high protein shake after every ballet class I take.  I wouldn’t suggest that for young kids, but an alternative would be to pack a 2% chocolate milk with you.  When you get older, maybe 17 or 18, drinking a protein shake would work!  For a major meal like dinner try to be as balanced as you can be.  Eat a protein like chicken or beef, a vegetable and maybe a bit of pasta.  I promise you that if you maintain a well-balanced diet your body will respond in the way you want it to.  Like me, pass up the French fries for a salad or soup and maybe eat 1 cookie instead of 5, but do not totally restrict yourself from foods that will feed your mind and body.

 

My belief is that, while training as a young dancer, we should not be programmed to think “skinny” but rather, “healthy.”  Lay off the scales kids.  Crying over a stupid number will not make anything better and most of the time it means nothing!   Start to focus on your health and strength so you can dance until you’re well into your 40’s injury free!!!!!

 

Xoxo

Allison

The Road Less Traveled (psst...is ok, too!)

The Road Less Traveled (psst...is ok, too!)


Ok, there is only one path to becoming a professional ballerina.  Start young, dance every day of the week, go to every summer program there is, and NEVER GO TO COLLEGE, you'll be too old when you graduate to get a job.

WRONG.  Sure that is a great plan for success, but who wants to do what everyone else does anyway?

In all seriousness, that plan is probably the best way to make it to the big leagues of ballet.  There were times, in my life, that I wish I had done just that.  People often ask me how I ended up at Ballet West.  I definitely took the road less traveled to Salt Lake City, making stops in places like good choices, bad choices, heartbreaks and triumphs.

I started ballet at the age of three (at least I got one thing right! ha) at the Parou Ballet Company in New Castle, Pa.. It was love at first sight! I remember being young and asked to run across the floor and pretend I was picking up a flower.  I knew at a young age that dance was a way to tell stories with my body and I couldn't get enough.  It came easy to me.  I could turn, jump and had high extension.  I was on pointe at 9 years old and dancing with the "big girls".  When I was 12, I moved to Pittsburgh from New Castle.  That meant a new school and new ballet school.  I started at Pittsburgh Youth Ballet and was given a part in Balanchine's Serenade the first day I was there.  All of a sudden, things started to change.  I had a hard time making friends at school and at ballet and I felt overwhelmed by all the changes in my life.  The following summer was the first summer that I auditioned for summer programs.  I was accepted to SAB and NCSA.  That summer my mother was also due to have my younger sister, Delaney.  Everyone was saying that I had to go to a summer program because it was the only way to get noticed and asked to stay for a year round program...the first step into a company.  I sat down with my Mom and told her I didn't want to go.  I waited my whole life for a sister (I had two bros up until that point) and I couldn't miss her being born.  That summer I took off from ballet and didn't go back until I was almost 17.

Yeah, I didn't do ballet at all for three years.  I didn't step back into the studio until I was 16 and a few months.  There was so much change happening in my life and I felt like the only thing I could control was quitting the thing I loved most.  I tried a lot of other things like cheerleading and drill team.  I went to high school football games and hung out at the coolest spots on Friday nights.  You know, did the "normal" thing. I was having a lot of fun, but wasn't feeling as fulfilled as I did in the ballet studio.  One random day when I was almost 17 I asked my mom if I could go back to ballet.  She about died waiting for this to happen!  I called PYB and asked them if I could come back and when I could start.  Everything was looking up! Until the first combination at the barre....what did I do to myself?!?!?

I lost my turnout, could barely finish a single pirouette and forget about extension!! I lost it all! It used to be so easy!  My body changed into a teenagers body without the refinement of ballet for those 3 years. I remember crying for months thinking I could never make it back.  But I made changes.  I started eating healthier because I was an athlete again and went to the gym to cross train.  I also applied to be the first student at my high school to take my academics early in the morning and leave to go to ballet the rest of the day.  It took almost a year to feel like I was getting back into ballet shape, but it did happen.  Two years flew by fast and it was time for me to graduate school.  I knew I wanted to dance professional but my parents were pushing me to get a college education.  I did take a lot of time off, and was still behind, so they thought it was a good idea to get additional training.  To my ballet teachers it was the final death wish.  I already pushed my luck taking so much time off, but now college?? I'd be too old when I graduated to get a job.

I ended up applying to schools and not auditioning.  I spent four years at Indiana University, Bloomington.  They have an amazing ballet program! My first year I got cast in Swan Lake as a Tall Swan and Balanchine's Four Temperaments and was coached by Julie Kent, Susan Jaffe and Susie Pillare.  Unfortunately, my sophomore year I got caught up in the "college experience" and almost blew it!  I'm telling you these things because I think it's important for young kids to understand that you will make mistakes along away and it's OK, it's what you learn from your mistakes that build your character.  I got in a lot of trouble from the ballet directors.  I didn't take care of my body and got out of shape.  In return I didn't get cast in many ballets. I was not ready to audition for companies come graduation time and was told point blank to forget about ever becoming professional.  I believed them. I ruined my own chances, again. I was happy that I would end up getting a degree because I was going to definitely need it now that my chances of being a dancer were pretty slim to none. While home in Pittsburgh the summer before my last semester at school I started to take open classes at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.  I was asked if I would be interested in training at their Graduate Program.  I could not pass up the opportunity and agreed to come, finishing my last semester at Indiana online so I could graduate.  The decision to go to PBT changed my life.

It was so hard for me at first at PBT.  I was the oldest, at 23, when everyone around me was no older than 19.   I also was severely out of shape and could barely get through variations in class.  I was most definitely the underdog.  Luckily, 23 was the year I came out of my shell!!  I was tired of hearing the word "NO" and I was determined to make my dreams come true.  I danced from 9-6pm everyday and taught ballet until 10pm every night.  I waited tables on the weekends to save money for auditions.  I never worked harder in my life then I did that year.  There were days that I felt discouraged, but I wasn't going to look back at my mistakes; I was keeping focused on this opportunity to change the path my life was on.  From January-March of that year I drove to NYC every weekend for every cattle call audition there was.  I'd get cut and didn't care, it wasn't stopping me.  A few times I heard I was too tall and few times I did hear I was too old.  I heard "NO" a million times, but it didn't matter because one "YES" was all I needed! 

Come April, I got the call from Ballet West!!!!! I was asked to join the company as an Apprentice.  Opening night of my very first professional performance was my 24th Birthday.  I was told it was never going to happen for me and there I was, ON STAGE.  In seven years, I have now worked my way up to being a Soloist. 

I am a firm believer that you are in charge of your own destiny.  I have made so many bad choices in my life but a lot of good choices, too.  I know I am very blessed to be where I am today but I assure you I was not handed any of my success.  I made mistakes, learned from them, made changes and worked my butt off to get to where I am right now at 30 years old.  A lot of you ask if it's too late for you to live out your dreams.  What's too late to you?  An age? There shouldn't be a time limit when finding happiness.  Every one's journey is different.  Mine was long and sometime hard, but I made it which means you can too!!  Everyone will have an opinion, but when it comes to you, your opinion of yourself is what matters most!! Find CONFIDENCE in who you are, gain the STRENGTH to maintain who you are, and live your life with GRACE.  To living the dream!!!

xoxo
Allison

Photo by James Glader

What's on YOUR mind?

Hello Everyone!!

I can't express how excited I am about FINALLY starting a blog!! Besides dancing, I have always had a passion for journalism.  I consider it a way to connect to people and I believe it is our relationships with each other that keeps the world a happy place.  Since Breaking Pointe, I have been given the gift to travel around the country meeting so many of you!  From young to old it has been such a pleasure to see with my own eyes how my life could effect so many, positively.  I get questions on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram so often and it's hard to answer in just a few sentences.  I think this blog is the best way to answer all of your questions!!!  Don't be afraid to ask away!!

xoxo
Allison