By Jennifer Milne
Rachel Hersey moves across the floor of the New American Youth Ballet studio with the grace and poise of a professional ballet dancer. She’s performing a piece called “The Swan,” and her arms rise and fall gently with the music, imitating the animal’s wings. Rachel’s 5-foot-2-inch frame and elegant stature help hide the fact that she is only 11 years old.
In addition to dancing four days a week with the ballet school, Rachel, born and raised in Battery Park City, is attending two ballet programs this summer, Summer Ballet Camp in Moscow from July 14 – 29 and the American Ballet Theatre’s Young Dancer Summer Workshop here in New York from July 30 – August 10. Both required Rachel to audition against other dancers to be accepted, and she was one of 160 accepted into the A.B.T. program, from an applicant pool of 375.
“I think she works very well under pressure,” said Rachel’s mother, Sherry Hersey. “These summer programs are very competitive, and if nerves get the better of you, you don’t do well.”
In fact, Rachel, who’s been dancing since she was 3 years old, can’t think of a single thing she doesn’t like about ballet. She even danced in Taiwan from 2000-2003, when her family moved there due to her mother’s job with Citigroup at the time. However, when Sherry gestured to Rachel’s pink satin pointe shoes, Rachel remembered one thing.
“My feet hurt sometimes,” she said.
Rachel’s been en pointe for a year now, and the technique requires her to support her body’s weight on just the tips of her toes. Dancing en pointe is considered the most graceful form of ballet, and it’s an important step toward dancing professionally, which Rachel hopes to do. She says she will definitely be looking for a ballet-focused high school.
In the meantime, Rachel will continue to dance with the New American Youth Ballet, where she’s been for the past three years. Rachel met her instructor – and director of the company – Elizabeth Fernandez-Flores, 27, at P.S. 89’s after school ballet program. The two became fast friends, and Rachel joined the ballet company the following semester.
“Her talent struck me as special,” said Fernandez-Flores, who has been dancing for 20 years and co-founded the ballet school with her mother, Bonnie, in 1993. “Overall, her technique is pretty even. She has good turns and high jumps. She’s a well-rounded dancer, which is great at such a young age.”
Rachel’s confidence in her dancing is evident as she glides across the company’s small studio, located in a storefront at 98 Battery Pl. She raises her right leg to a 90-degree arabesque position as part of her warm up exercises on the barre, which she leans on to support herself. After a few repetitions of two demi pliés and one grand plié, she begins dancing across the floor, demonstrating sections of “Les Sylphides” and “The Swan” from the company’s upcoming show on June 17.
Rachel says she calms her stage fright when performing onstage by pretending the audience watching her isn’t there.
“It’s really fun, but when you get out there, you’re nervous,” she said. “If you forget [the audience] is there, it helps.”
No stranger to lead roles, Rachel played Clara in the New American Youth Ballet’s 2005 production of “The Nutcracker” and Titania in 2006’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” What she and her mother like most about the Lower Manhattan program is that everyone, regardless of ability, gets to perform.
“There’s a good team of nice people here,” said Sherry Hersey. “It’s a tricky age for the girls, but everyone is very happy for one another’s achievements. Everyone gets to perform. Everyone gets a chance at an important role.”
Fernandez-Flores says performing is integral to a dancer’s development, and her company, unlike other youth ballet programs, does not restrict its performances to the older or more experienced dancers.
“Performing programs are important,” Fernandez-Flores said. “Sometimes at age 12, 13 – it’s an age where a lot of times they aren’t allowed to perform.”
Fernandez-Flores also welcomes dancers of all abilities and financial backgrounds. The company currently has about 140 students, aged 2 and up, and accepts students who may not be able to pay for lessons on a donation basis – the school is also a registered non-profit.
As for the dancers’ intimate, pale pink studio, Fernandez-Flores says she hopes to expand the company to a bigger space one day, from the 750-square foot studio the students currently use.
“We’re a school that’s growing,” she said. “I’d like to say that we’re a little school with a big heart.”
