Natalie Tsay 17 ~ Nathalie Krassovska Ballet Scholarship
I’ve been dancing almost as long as I’ve been walking, and I’ve been attending the Ballet Academy of Texas for 11 years. Since 2008, I’ve been part of the performing company, the Ballet Ensemble of Texas. At venues including local festivals, competitions and annual performances, I’ve had the opportunity to perform pieces such as “Gaite Parisienne,” “La Vivandiere,” “Swan Lake (Act II),” Fernando Bujones’s “Slavonic Dances,” and “Coppelia.” I consider myself extremely privileged to have had so many performance opportunities and to have worked with so many prominent ballet masters and choreographers. Last year, the Ensemble traveled to Montreal for the RDA National Festival, where I was fortunate enough to perform a highlighted role in Lisa Slagle’s “Tarantella.” Most recently, I was awarded 2nd place in the Senior Classical division at YAGP 2013. Currently, we are working on four pieces for our spring show: Gordon Peirce Schmidt’s “American Portrait,” a new piece by Margo Sappington, “Plaza del Fuego,” Tammie Reinsch’s “No Pressure,” and Balanchine’s “Walpurgisnacht,” and I’m very excited to perform them in late March.
For the past five years, I’ve attended numerous summer intensives, such as ABT’s Young Dancer Program, Joffrey San Antonio, Magnus Midwest, and the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Intensive Summer Program, which I will return to this year. Summer intensives have always been a highlight of my year, and the honor of receiving a Dance Council scholarship would make the experience even more enjoyable.
Since I am a junior in high school, I have one last year to dance at home. Next year, I will continue working hard at the studio. I’m especially excited to begin Fernando Bujones’s “Splendid Gershwin” in the fall. I want to make my senior year memorable and worthwhile, but after that, I’m not yet sure what I will be doing. I need to spend next year deciding what my plans will be, but whether I audition for traineeships or decide to go to college, I hope to continue dancing. In my college search, a good dance program is a major criterion for me even though I’m not yet certain what my future will hold.