Amanda Lai (12): I began dancing at a young age, at three years old, so ballet has always been a foundational aspect of me. I started from the basics, where we learn moves like a plie or tendu, the super simple steps that you learn at three years old. Growing up, I got to use these steps to do even more complex moves and more advanced tricks. Ballet, for me, has served as a foundation in anything I take on, whether it be through academics, things with my friends, or just enjoying life in general. I would say dance has really been fundamental in every aspect of my life, all starting from ballet as my foundation. 

Although I train in ballet, I also train in other styles, like jazz, lyrical, contemporary, but ballet is the foundation of it all. One of my favorite parts of ballet is how there’s so much room for improvement. With ballet, it’s almost impossible to reach a perfect state. So I know that there’s always room for me to practice an extra part of a move or stretch even more at home, just really bettering myself to make sure that I can do the best performance possible. The dancers around me at my dance studio really inspire me. I see all their hard work and dedication,  their strive for constant improvement, and the support from the community, we’re all really on the same path. It’s just really an incredible community that I found myself being a part of.  

I have an upcoming ballet performance. It’s for the Nutcracker production with my studio. I joined the studio at three years old, and I started joining the Nutcracker at about seven years old, and here I am now at 17, having been in production for a decade. And it’s just such an amazing experience. So, I’ll be performing in it on December 7th and 8th alongside Ella Liang. Although I don’t see myself pursuing ballet as a career, I do hope to keep dance as some sort of form of exercise and movement in my life. It’s a way for me to gain discipline and better myself. I really hope to keep something like that in the future as well, even though it might not be through the dance profession.