43
Poland teen to attend prestigious dance academy Tiptoeing to success
By Sean Barron
POLAND
Whether it’s taking part in efforts to help others, learn valuable life skills or engage in perhaps her most-passionate pursuit, 14-year-old Katie Reilly spends a lot of time staying on her toes.
“I started when I was 4. It’s an outlet; I feel safe when I dance,” the Boardman High School freshman explained.
Beginning Monday, Katie will be doing much more than merely engaging in one of her favorite ways to exercise and cope with the rigors of life. That’s because she was recently selected to attend the five-week BalletMet Dance Academy in Columbus, which concludes July 31.
On Saturday, Katie took part in an orientation in Columbus to get her acclimated to BalletMet’s Summer Intensive program, which is for advanced students 12 and older who have high-level dance skills and plan to take part in a full-time training program or join a professional company.
She will be among more than 200 students nationwide who will study ballet technique and pointe, along with disciplines such as flamenco, modern, jazz and character. Katie’s experience also will include classes in music, acting, yoga, wellness and dance history.
“I auditioned for BalletMet last Jaunary,” Katie said from her Rosehedge Drive home shortly before she left for Columbus. “I was so excited when I got an email that said I was accepted.”
Helping to prime Katie for her big lunge forward has been her five years with Ballet Western Reserve Inc. in Youngstown. She also has under her belt a pair of two-week summer sessions with the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet in Carlisle, Pa., where she received instruction on technique and strength training.
Being with BalletMet also will provide her with an opportunity to assume certain adult responsibilities and life skills such as being away from home, living in a dormitory with a roommate, setting her own goals and living on a fixed amount of money, explained her father, Chuck Reilly.
“She works real hard, whether at school or in dance,” said Chuck, an assistant federal security director for the Transportation Security Administration who retired last May after having served 20 years in the Air Force and Marines, which included two deployments to Iraq.
Not along ago, Katie, who’s also an active member of Good Hope Lutheran Church in Boardman, accompanied her father on a recent mission trip to Raleigh County, W.Va., where she worked at a school, read to children and packed lunches for many youngsters in need. Among other things, the project made her realize more acutely that many people relatively close to home are struggling, her father continued.
Also proud of Katie’s accomplishments is her mother, Teresa Reilly, a homemaker who also volunteers at her church and with Ballet Western Reserve.
Katie explained that in addition to being fun and a means of self-expression, dancing can open the door to careers focused on helping people, such as becoming a physical therapist, something the teen said she may consider. But for now, she’s grateful for the ongoing positive transformations that it has brought her.
“It definitely continues to teach me many life skills,” said Katie, who also plays the violin and enjoys writing. “So it is a huge opportunity to help me in so many ways, including the little things.”