Teen's trip to New York might be just the start

By Maricella Miranda

St. Paul Pioneer Press

West St. Paul, Minn. (AP) -- Most 13-year-old girls don't travel alone to New York City for ballet auditions. But Gabby Nelson is not your typical teen.

The eighth-grader from Heritage Middle School in West St. Paul auditioned for and landed a spot at the School of American Ballet summer camp in Manhattan - the official training academy of the New York City Ballet.

She will live there with 200 other dancers for five weeks.

"I'm nervous but I'm excited," Gabby said. "I think it'll be fun."

It will be the first time Gabby has traveled to study her craft. She trains at the Classical Ballet Academy in St. Paul and dances for Ballet Minnesota, where she has landed leading roles, such as Clara in "The Nutcracker."

Her dream is to become a professional dancer someday. And many say she has the talent and drive to make it.

"For a ballet dancer, she has everything she needs to be a top dancer," said Andrew Rist, co-director of the ballet academy and artistic director of Ballet Minnesota.

Her dance career began in kindergarten when Gabby enrolled in gymnastics and dance class. Although she learned several styles of dance, she admired the beauty of ballet. In third grade, she dropped gymnastics and began training at the academy.

"I thought (ballet) was prettier and more fun," Gabby said.

Her body proportions and flexibility make her physically gifted for dance, Rist said.

"She just now needs to train, which she is doing," he said. "She is doing very well."

Gabby dances for about 20 hours a week at the school. Her training helped land her the main role of Clara last winter in "The Nutcracker," for which she performed in seven shows before 10,000 people. In May, she will perform the leading role of Chloe in the story ballet "Nightmare," and will dance in "Sleeping Beauty."

Last year, she was accepted to a ballet summer camp in Winnipeg, Canada, but declined the invitation. "I was a little bit too young to go off for four weeks," she said.

Not this year.

Gabby pleaded with her parents to study ballet away from home, said her mother, Alex Nelson. She flew alone to New York City, staying with relatives before the audition.

"She knows what she wants," her mother said. This year, Gabby was accepted again to the Canadian summer camp and to two others in Boston. She received a scholarship for one. But her top choice was New York.

"I really like New York," she said. "It's fun."

The school is near the Julliard School, an acclaimed facility for musicians and dancers. Gabby will live in the Julliard dorms during the camp, which begins June 28.

"I'm excited," she said.

At the school, Gabby said she especially wants to learn the Balanchine technique, developed by the school's founder and choreographer, George Balanchine. The school also offers a year-round program, which she hopes to be accepted into after the camp.

It's an achievement to get into the school's summer program, Rist said.

"A lot of students are gifted. Gabby is gifted," he said. "And now it's a personal decision. If she decides to (dance professionally), she has everything it takes to do it."

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Information from: St. Paul Pioneer Press

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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