Dancer, Volunteer, & Community Member: Isabelle Burgess-Corkins

As we continue our series of sharing stories from BBT’s community, we interview Isabelle Burgess-Corkins, a dancer in the Adult Open Division, a parent of a BBT Studio Company member, who works with costumes for Youth Division dancers, and a volunteer in BBT’s Work Exchange Program. She was interviewed earlier this fall by BBT Operations Manager Courtney King.

I think Mai was in 10th grade at the time, which would be 5 years ago, she had been dancing at another dance studio since she was four years old and was ready to push herself in ballet. It was summertime and I found a summer program for her at BBT and she loved it.

At the time, Mai had auditioned for the Oakland Ballet Nutcracker and achieved her dream, she had a goal of doing all the child roles in the Oakland Ballet Nutcracker, and the year we moved to BBT, she was cast in the ultimate child role which is the BonBon. So, she wouldn’t be able to do the BBT Nutcracker during her first year, Ms. Sally and Ms. Susan were so great about it, where other schools said that Mai couldn’t go to the school if she didn’t do the Nutcracker.

It was very very challenging, her first year at BBT. When she got through, you could see a huge difference in her ability and desire to continue to dance. It was fantastic. But also, the level of training at BBT was so much better and it fit her personal need to be with kind and pleasant young people.

I stopped dancing in 1995 so it was the first time I started classes again when Mai began BBT. Many years ago, I was performing with an ethnic dance company, taking classes, working out at the gym, and rehearsing at night. It was a totally different body. When she began classes, I wasn’t dancing at the time and was a stay at home mom. There were classes that Mai was taking with Ms. Sally where I would sit there and wait. And I thought since it’s an open class maybe I should just try the class.

It was a lot of work to get back to a level that I could enjoy dancing at in class and feel like I had some resemblance to myself as a younger dancer. But, it was wonderful and it was fun. It was great! The teachers were fantastic. And I was being pushed by the teachers, which was very pleasing to me.

When I was dancing as a semi-professional dancer and taking classes in San Francisco, in some places it was a little bit competitive. You just had strange experiences with people. But at BBT, there is a spirit of support and love for each other. People enjoy watching other dancers grow and become better and enjoy their successes in class. There is a great deal of friendship with dancers during and before class. There is a lot of respect for the instructors and each other. Ms. Sally wants people to give each other room, observe respect for all other dancers in the room, and be thoughtful of one another. That created a culture of respect and support.

For me, as a parent, “The Nutcracker” has been a joy to watch my young person flourish and do things she didn’t expect she’d be able to do. And to see her, I think she’s beautiful, but she’s my daughter so of course, I think that, but my husband and I have so enjoyed “The Nutcracker.” It’s been fantastic every year. When Mai was thinking she wouldn’t do Nutcracker this year (if it had been a normal year) it was very emotional for me to think that she may not participate. Nutcracker is our holiday. Christmas is not a huge thing for me, but having our holiday revolve around dance is a very productive and wonderful way to spend the Christmas season.

As a person who volunteers, that part has been so rewarding for me. To be backstage helping kids and the adult participants work on their costumes, be comfortable, help Marge in the role that she’s taken on. Being backstage and seeing the full length of the performance and how it works from backstage is another wonderful thing for me. The Spring performances too! To have the opportunity to volunteer and be so involved is an honor.

There are moments where I can feel a little bit of what it felt like when I was a performer, and that is such a gift. I’m looking forward to getting back into the studios. It’ll be different, but I’m looking forward to having a glimpse of my past again.