Today we’d like to introduce you to Caroline Sowers.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Caroline. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
When I was only three years old, my mom put me in my first ballet class. However, I got off to a rocky start; when I was supposed to be a Bon Bon in my very first Nutcracker, I refused to get under the Mother Ginger skirt and didn’t end up performing! But in the years following that unfortunate incident, I began to fall in love with the stage. I started focusing on ballet when I came to San Diego Academy of Ballet at age seven, where I have been training ever since. Every year I became more serious about ballet, and the more opportunities I was given, the more I wanted to perform bigger roles. Dancing Clara in the Nutcracker when I was 11 was the first time I was on stage for the entire two hour ballet, and since then I haven’t wanted to leave the stage! The next year I got to do Clara again, this time on pointe, and in the years following, I had the opportunities to dance in Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty in the featured roles of the Four Little Swans and Princess Florine. Nothing made me happier than when I was cast to dance the lead in the ballets Les Sylphides at age 14, Paquita at 16, and just recently the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Nutcracker at 17.
For the last few years, I have competed in several ballet competitions to gain experience performing variations, to learn how to handle pressure, and to compete for medals and scholarships. Last year I won first place at California Dance Classics and the US Prix de Ballet. This year I was fortunate to receive 3rd place at the semifinals of the biggest student ballet competition in the world, Youth America Grand Prix, and I was invited by YAGP to compete in their New York finals. I also had the amazing opportunity of traveling across the ocean to Japan, (my first time outside the country!), to compete in the Japan Grand Prix International Ballet Competition as a finalist.
The past two summers I traveled across the country to Florida and Tulsa to train six hours a day at summer intensives at the Harid Conservatory and Tulsa Ballet. I loved training alongside talented dancers from around the world, and taking company class at Tulsa Ballet was immensely inspiring. I realized that ballet isn’t just something I love; it’s something I want to make a career out of. For my freshman, through junior years of high school I attended a normal public high school, but as a senior this year I am grateful to be able to do online schooling and train 30 hours per week to prepare for my dream of becoming a professional ballet dancer.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I have been lucky to have had many amazing opportunities and no major injuries so far, but there have been some bumps in the road. At 13, I competed in the Youth America Grand Prix for the first time, and I had rehearsed my two 1 and a half minute variations for six months leading up to the competition. On the day of YAGP, my variations went well, but out of a hundred girls, I didn’t even place the top 24. I was very disappointed, but I tried again next year; only to face the same fate. I was discouraged, but I never wanted to quit, and the next year I finally succeeded in placing the top 24. However, that year I also experienced my first sting of rejection.
That summer I attended the Harid Conservatory’s four week summer intensive, which serves as an extended audition for the year round program. I loved the teachers and was even placed in the highest level. I wasn’t planning on attending for the year, but when the rejection letter for the year round school came it was devastating. I was afraid that if they didn’t want me, no professional company would want me when it came time to audition for a job. However, I loved ballet too much to ever think about quitting, and it pushed me to work harder than ever. Last year I finally placed the top three at YAGP, was invited to the NY finals, and went to Tulsa Ballet’s summer course on a full scholarship. Even though I didn’t place at YAGP finals this year, I truly believe that hard work pays off and I will keep improving every day.
Please tell us about your art.
I am naturally flexible, which is a blessing for ballet, but it also comes with a curse; a lack of strength. I have struggled with building strength my entire life, and it has made it difficult for me to execute some technically demanding steps such as fouettes, jumps, and consecutive releves. However, I can lift my leg to my ear with ease, and I love dancing slow, lyrical variations as well as exciting ones such as La Esmeralda – as long as they don’t have a lot of jumps! But my favorite thing to dance is a pas de deux. The classical pas de deuxs, where a male and female dancer dance together, are so beautiful, and there is such a sense of teamwork. I love doing everything from the impressive lifts to simple gestures that bring artistry to the performance.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I feel that dedication is the most important thing for my success. In the last few years, I have not missed a single ballet class due to sickness or an event not related to ballet. I never skipped a rehearsal to hang out with friends or to finish a school project. In the last 4 years, the only week I have taken off from ballet was when I was in Japan after the competition was over. Throughout these years, I would never have wanted it any other way.
Contact Info:
- Email: csowers9@gmail.com
- Instagram: @caroline.s_ballerina
Image Credit:
Lightheart Dance Art, Holly Ireland, LK Studio, Travis Jennings.
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