Reporting by Cesar Canizales

The students at the Pacific Northwest Ballet are some of the most elite. They come from all over the country, representing 35 states. There are a few from Canada, but some come from as far away as Japan and Bulgaria.

And they’re all here because it’s one of the best schools, and they want to hone their skills during the five-week program called Summer Intensive.

This summer, 224 are here, ages 12 to 19, representing 105 ballet schools. They were selected at auditions by the school’s recruiters out of more than 1,300 during a 25-city audition tour earlier this year. 

Ikolo Griffin danced for 20 years before becoming a teacher. He has been teaching male students at the PNB for about four years now.

“What's nice in the summer is that we get the best of the best from all around the country.

And these dancers are phenomenal,” said Griffin. “They bring everything that we're looking for. It's kind of like a treat, honestly.”

Ballet dancers are athletes and actors, so PNB recruiters and teachers look for natural talent. 

“We're looking for students who have that unique quality that can execute classical ballet steps and show a passion for dance and musicality,” said Denise Bolstad, managing director at PNB.

Strength Discipline 

It takes a lot of strength—and tolerance for discomfort—to be able to dance on pointe, on the tips of their toes. But these students are dedicated and focused.

In some of the dance studios, students took breaks and put ice packs on various parts of their legs.

Asked whether they wake up in the morning with a great desire to get up and practice, or if their bodies hurt, Antonio Villegas, a 17-year-old student from Oregon, said it’s the latter. 

“But you always come in,” Villegas said.

“We push through it,” said Leeanaca Moore, 17, of Jacksonville, Florida. “You kind of have to or you're just not going to make it. 

Aki Widerquist, from South Bend, Indiana, has been exploring ballet and dancing since she was four years old.

 

“Showing up is the hardest part. Once you're here, it gets easier,” Widerquist said.

Dancers have to keep smiling and stay in character, even as they’re exerting maximum effort, said Petur Iliev, a ballet teacher from Bulgaria. 

“That's very hard because most of them, they're concentrating on of all the physical way of doing it and executing movements in the very precise way,” said Iliev. “And they get very concentrated and that reflects their facial expression. So, my job is to break that.”

These students love their craft, and many have been practicing it since they were very young. There is no way around it, said Dana Hanson, a classical ballet teacher said.

“Our student division starts when they're eight. So it's pretty young,” said Hanson. “Some people start a little bit later, but if you don't get some good foundational work before beginning the point work, it's really difficult to catch up.”

Craving the spotlight

The dancers practice for up to nine hours a day, which puts a strain on their bodies, but it’s worth it, because they want to be in the spotlight.

“What I like best about ballet is working with others and being able to show off my artistry to the audience,” said Villegas. “And I love being on stage. Being on stage is definitely my favorite part of ballet in general.”

“Being on stage, that’s the best part, like the lights in your face, like the way you feel after you're done,” said Moore. “Nothing else interests me. So I don't want to, like, spend time doing something that I have no interest in.”

Students must have drive and discipline—they also must possess some intangible assets.

“There are some physical attributes, but it's broader than that. It's also a mental connection, a work ethic, and in some cases, a spark, you know, which isn’t a physical attribute; it’s just a spark,” said Peter Boal, PNB’s artistic director.

Boal said ballet used to feel reserved for certain types of people. But he said the PNB has been intensifying its efforts to attract and recruit more students of diverse backgrounds by breaking barriers, especially financial ones, that can keep them from taking classes there.

These students love what they do, even as their toes, ankles and knees hurt. They are among the best, and a large percentage will get hired as professional ballet dancers. They can look forward to traveling all over the country, maybe even the world, and making a pretty good living as dancers.