Letter: Pros show that dance is a career option

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To the editor:

I am 19 and I would like to express my thoughts about the closing of Ballet Kelowna and how the company has affected me.

I have been dancing since I was four. I started in the Canadian School of Ballet. In the first years of my training, Ballet Kelowna were the “big ballerinas,” the ones who knew what they were doing and looked amazing. I wanted to look like that.

When I hit elementary school, my class was lucky enough to attend one of the ballet’s school shows. I remember feeling so close to the performance because I recognized the performers from my studio and had the opportunity of having a few of the dancers instruct me as subs from time to time.

I remember the pride I felt knowing they rehearsed at the same studio I took lessons from.

Ballet Kelowna showed me my dance didn’t have to end with graduation. One of ballet Kelowna’s dancers is my instructor now at Creator’s Arts Center. She is a role model for all of us.

Thanks to Ballet Kelowna, the idea was planted that I could continue my training. I now dance with Rushing Wild, a pre-professional company originating in Vernon.

Demi Kouwenhoven,

Kelowna