There are two challenges when considering a change in a dancer’s training. First, how do you know when your dancer needs a new environment to keep growing? Second, how do you help a dancer make that change when they are happy, comfortable, and connected where they are?
I understand both challenges personally.
When I began dancing, I was enrolled in a recreational program. My classes were fun, I performed in recitals, and I had friends I loved dancing with. From my perspective as a child, everything was just fine. My commitment level was low, I felt comfortable, and I was not especially interested in changing anything.
My parents, however, could see something I could not yet see: I wanted to become a professional dancer, but the training available to me was not likely to take me there.
They paid attention to my goals. They watched the recitals. They recognized that—even as I advanced in my current school—the instruction, experience, and opportunities would not match the future I said I wanted. So they did the work of researching other options. Thankfully, even in our small Idaho town, they found a school with stronger training and students who had gone on to opportunities beyond local performances.
I was less than enthusiastic. I did not want to leave my friends. I loved my teacher. I worried that teachers at a more serious school might be “mean.” At eight years old, I could not yet understand the difference between recreational dance classes and training intended to prepare a dancer for serious pre-professional opportunities.
My parents listened to my concerns, but they still encouraged me to try. They did not demand that I make a permanent decision before I had even walked through the door. They simply asked me to give something new a fair chance—and promised that if it truly was not a good fit, I could return to my former school.
Some of my worries materialized. I was placed with older dancers, challenged more directly, and pushed farther than I had been before. I felt awkward at times as one of the youngest in the room. My new teachers communicated differently, too: they were more specific and more direct about what I needed to improve.
But that became the part I loved most, and why I made the change permanent.
I wanted to become a better dancer. In a program where teachers could clearly identify what I needed, explain how to work on it, and help me see my progress, I began to experience the satisfaction of genuine growth. I gave up being one of the best dancers in a small-town school—but I gained the chance to be a truly skilled dancer.
Within a few years, my school was taken over by former Ballet West and New York City Ballet dancers. Suddenly, I had teachers who understood not only how to improve my dancing in class, but how to guide me through the larger decisions ahead: where to train, which opportunities to pursue, and how to prepare for a professional career.
That mentorship meant everything. The later opportunities I enjoyed, from attending the country’s best schools to navigating between scholarship offers, grew out of this mentorship. But it began because my parents recognized that my goals required a training environment equipped to support them.
I am deeply grateful that my parents were paying attention. I am grateful that they cared enough to research, to disrupt the status quo, and to lovingly push me beyond my comfort zone.
That experience is part of why I created Ballet Aligned.
Not every dancer wants a professional ballet career—and that is perfectly appropriate. But every dancer deserves thoughtful instruction, meaningful correction, encouragement, and teachers who recognize their potential. Whether your child hopes to dance professionally, pursue intensive training, perform confidently in the community, or simply develop a lifelong love of ballet, we want to help them take the next right step. If you are wondering whether your dancer may be ready for something more, reach out. Sometimes all it takes is the courage to try one new class—and the opportunity to discover what is possible.
Happy dancing!