Moncton ballerina Emily Chiasson, 15, describes being chosen to attend the prestigious Joffrey School of Ballet in New York this week as “a shock.”
“I am not at all like a ballet dancer. I am not tall and slim, I am more like very muscular built and I am short, I am very short,” Chiasson told Global News.
She stands only five-foot-one and has a rather muscular build. But what Chiasson lacks in size, she more than makes up for in talent and sheer drive according to her dance director.
“She absolutely breaks the mold, the fact that she was accepted into a ballet program at her height, and she is very muscular and height as well – it’s very encouraging. But it’s quite remarkable, she is a pint-sized cute little package,” Susanne Bourque said.
Bourque says more than 6,000 dancers from around the world auditioned for the summer program. Sunday, Chiasson got the new she was chosen not only for the summer dance school, but also to attend the four year full-time study program.
Chiasson says she learned at a young age that, given her size, she would have to work harder to make it as a dancer.
“When I was younger, I would always be in front in dance because I was little. But now, it just means I have to work harder so that I can be noticed on stage and make my moves even bigger to fit in.”
Now she is paving the way for other young dancers to follow in her footsteps, shattering stereotypes with every step.
“I just love to express how I feel to other people so that they connect as I am connecting to the music,” Chiasson said.
Not be old enough to drive, she even choreographs her own stunning routines. That’s a rarity according to her instructor, who calls her a “dynamo.”
Emily hopes to become a professional dancer one day, she says it’s all she ever wanted.
“I will keep dancing as long as I am able to move.”
Comments