By Audrey Williams
Staff Writer
Former Mira Costa High School student 15-year-old Amber Ray has spent the past three years of her life traveling around the world to perform ballet.
Ray spent two weeks training in ballet with Russian teachers at the Bolshoi Academy this past summer. She took classes on different aspects of dance and also performed the Lilac Fairy Variation from “Sleeping Beauty.”
“It was an amazing experience,” Ray said. “I learned so much, and the performance was something I will never forget.”
Ray attended the Bolshoi Ballet Academy Summer Intensive for six weeks. While there, she earned an invitation to train at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy for two weeks during the school year, which she accepted, and simultaneously rejected an invitation to study in Moscow for a year.
“Understandably, my family did not want me to live in Moscow for a year,” Ray said. “I am grateful for what the Bolshoi Ballet Academy taught me in the two weeks I attended. Without the opportunities I earned when I was there, I would not be the dancer I am today.”
Ray started dancing when she was five years old at a local studio but did not start training intensely until she was 12. She now trains at The Yuri Grigoriev School of Ballet in Los Angeles.
“I have worked hard the past three and a half years to catch up to the other dancers who have been training for the majority of their lives,” Ray said. “The most challenging part was getting rid of bad habits from my prior training.”
Ray has been competing and performing for three years. At this year’s Youth American Grand Prix in Paris, France, she placed first for contemporary and placed in the top 12 for classical dance.
“I love competing and performing,” Ray said. “It allows me to share my accomplishments and artistry with others.”
Ray dances six days a week and, when studying ballet internationally, she dances up to six hours a day. Ray currently attends school online to allow for her busy dance schedule.
“Online school gives me time to dance more,” Ray said. “I don’t have to worry about having homework every time I come home from dance or if I travel for training.”
In the future, Ray hopes to become a main dancer in a major ballet company. A few of her dream companies include American Ballet Theatre in New York City, the San Francisco Ballet and the Royal Ballet in London.
“I enjoy ballet for so many reasons,” Ray said. “I love the feeling of performing, the discipline it requires, the opportunities that ballet has brought me, and the traveling I get to do with the sport. I can’t imagine what my life would be like without ballet.”
Ray spent two weeks training in ballet with Russian teachers at the Bolshoi Academy this past summer. She took classes on different aspects of dance and also performed the Lilac Fairy Variation from “Sleeping Beauty.”
“It was an amazing experience,” Ray said. “I learned so much, and the performance was something I will never forget.”
Ray attended the Bolshoi Ballet Academy Summer Intensive for six weeks. While there, she earned an invitation to train at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy for two weeks during the school year, which she accepted, and simultaneously rejected an invitation to study in Moscow for a year.
“Understandably, my family did not want me to live in Moscow for a year,” Ray said. “I am grateful for what the Bolshoi Ballet Academy taught me in the two weeks I attended. Without the opportunities I earned when I was there, I would not be the dancer I am today.”
Ray started dancing when she was five years old at a local studio but did not start training intensely until she was 12. She now trains at The Yuri Grigoriev School of Ballet in Los Angeles.
“I have worked hard the past three and a half years to catch up to the other dancers who have been training for the majority of their lives,” Ray said. “The most challenging part was getting rid of bad habits from my prior training.”
Ray has been competing and performing for three years. At this year’s Youth American Grand Prix in Paris, France, she placed first for contemporary and placed in the top 12 for classical dance.
“I love competing and performing,” Ray said. “It allows me to share my accomplishments and artistry with others.”
Ray dances six days a week and, when studying ballet internationally, she dances up to six hours a day. Ray currently attends school online to allow for her busy dance schedule.
“Online school gives me time to dance more,” Ray said. “I don’t have to worry about having homework every time I come home from dance or if I travel for training.”
In the future, Ray hopes to become a main dancer in a major ballet company. A few of her dream companies include American Ballet Theatre in New York City, the San Francisco Ballet and the Royal Ballet in London.
“I enjoy ballet for so many reasons,” Ray said. “I love the feeling of performing, the discipline it requires, the opportunities that ballet has brought me, and the traveling I get to do with the sport. I can’t imagine what my life would be like without ballet.”
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