It can be bittersweet for coaches to say goodbye to their athletes or dancers when they advance to the next level – or in the case of dance, head off to pursue pre-professional dance training. In recent years, two Dance Extreme students chose to pursue full time pre-professional dance studies at two of Canada’s most well-known ballet schools. Ewan Hartman has spent the past two years studying and training at Canada’s National Ballet School, while dancer Paige Lavoie is pursuing her studies and dance training at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School.
Both Hartman and Lavoie love ballet, and they have taken their training to the next level by living in residence at their respective schools so that they can fill their day, not only with academic studies, but also dance. In addition to ballet classes, both dancers train in contemporary repertoire and technique, improvisation, drama and expression, historical/character dance, nutrition and anatomy classes focusing on variations, repertoire, pas de deux and more.
We asked both Hartman and Lavoie what they love most about the training they are receiving.
“The training here at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet has helped me to perfect the basics of ballet so I can move on to the next step in my ballet journey here,” says Lavoie. “At the school, they teach us to work hard and show that we love ballet at the same time. The teachers here are so dedicated to working with us, they always push us to be the best dancers we can be.”
Hartman, meanwhile, says of his training at the National Ballet School that he loves the way NBS understands the way his body works and what it needs when it comes to his training and also being a male dancer.
Both dancers miss their friends and Dance Extreme family. Says Lavoie: “I’m so grateful for all the teachers who were always teaching me new things and helping me to improve. It was hard to leave Dance Extreme because it was like a second home and a family for me, but I’m so happy for where dance has brought me in my blossoming dance career.”
Bottom line? Once a part of the Dance Extreme Family, always a part!
By Richelle Hirlehey
