"Dancer in the Family"

As part of the 40th Anniversary Heritage Photos series, a long-time BBT dancer, Laura, shared her experience from childhood to adulthood.

My first ever ballet class was at Berkeley Ballet Theater, around 1993 when I was four years old. I fell in love with dance immediately. I loved class; I loved peeking through the door of the big studio to watch the big girls doing grande allegro; I loved “Nutcracker” more than I'd ever loved anything. I got to be an angel, a lollipop, and a sheep before moving away, and I kept dancing at a high level until college.

When I was in Level One, we had a little showcase of the barre and center exercises we had been working on. It was just in the studio, but I remember being so nervous and excited and smiling so big standing at the barre in front of my parents. Sally Streets was there, which made it extra exciting (and nerve-wracking)! When the showcase ended, she walked over to my parents and said seriously, "You have a dancer in your family." This story has meant so much to me ever since; what a gift, to have the identity I most hoped for recognized and encouraged in that way.

I returned to BBT adult classes about a year ago, after a long time away from dance, and after having my first baby. It was an incredible feeling, coming off of a year consumed by the confusion and exhaustion of early motherhood, to stand at the barre and remember this core part of me: that I'm a dancer, just like Miss Sally said.

Thank you, BBT.