Taylor Stewart dreams of one day becoming a professional ballerina, and this summer she has an opportunity to help make those dreams into a reality.
Stewart, who will turn 18 in July, will leave her Siloam Springs home in August to join the trainee program at Ballet Magnificat! School of Arts in Jackson, Miss.
Ballet Magnificat! was founded in 1986 "as an arts organization dedicated to presenting the good news of Jesus Christ to the whole world," according to the organization's website. The organization's professional touring company has performed for audiences in the United States as well as Czech Republic, Canada, Belize, Honduras, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Singapore, Germany, Netherlands, Slovakia, Poland, Belgium, Greece, France, Italy, Macedonia, Kosovo, Israel, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Cayman Islands, Switzerland, Korea, Philippines and China.
The Ballet Magnificat! trainee program's mission is "to prepare Christian artists for ministry in the touring companies of Ballet Magnificat! as well as in a wide field of other mission organizations," according to the website. The trainee program is a one- to four-year program structured for students age 17-24 who want to become professional dancers.
Often, dancers who complete the trainee program are offered professional jobs within the company, and that's exactly the path Stewart wants to take.
"Yes that's the goal," said Stewart, a 2015 graduate of Christian Home Educators of Siloam Springs. "I love dancing. It's what I love to do and I get to express myself through that."
Stewart attended a Ballet Magnificat! Summer Dance Intensive camp for two weeks last summer at Belhaven College in Jackson.
"I absolutely loved everything about it," Stewart said, "and that made me want to apply there and be a part of their company."
Stewart sent off her trainee program application in December. As part of her application, she had to send in a video clip of her dancing then she traveled to Jackson to audition. She got her acceptance letter in February.
The 5-foot-2 daughter of Jeff and Kristin Stewart, and granddaughter of Dan and Lou Stewart and the late Dick and Kay Emery, also auditioned and was accepted to Joffrey Ballet School in New York, but decided to go with the closer Ballet Magnificat!
"I love the fact that she chose Ballet Magnificat!" Kristin said. "To me, I think there's something about not only a physical training but a spiritual training as well. That is a blessing to a parent, just knowing that they're not just one side. It's kind of a balance between the spiritual and the physical."
Taylor began participating in ballet when she was 3 years old in Bentonville under the late Peggie Wallis, who was a registered teacher for London's Royal Academy of Dance.
Kristin said Taylor initially got involved with ballet because, as a home-schooled child, she needed an activity for physical education.
"I thought it would be good for poise, balance and exercise," Kristin said. "I had no idea it would go this far."
At the age of 12, Taylor got "en pointe" -- when a ballet dancer supports all body weight on the tips of fully extended feet -- and said that is typically the make-it-or-break-it achievement for aspiring ballerinas.
"At some point girls see that they can either get en pointe or they can't," Kristin said.
On Aug. 29, 2014, Wallis died. The mother of one of her students wanted to continue classical ballet instruction in the region and started the Northwest Arkansas Conservatory of Classical Ballet in Bentonville. Taylor joined that organization along with its performance company NWA Ballet Theatre and has performed in productions of "The Nutcracker," "Swan Lake" and "Sleeping Beauty."
Through the Northwest Arkansas Conservatory of Classical Ballet, Taylor finished all six of her international exams through London's Royal Academy of Dance. She achieved Merit status on her Advanced II exam, according to a recommendation letter from Margie C. Bordovsky, executive director of Northwest Arkansas Conservatory of Classical Ballet and NWA Ballet Theatre.
"I experienced firsthand Taylor's character and work ethic," Bordovsky wrote. "Taylor is very coachable and not only accepts corrections graciously, but remains humble when praised for her work."
Taylor admits to having some butterflies about her upcoming venture to Ballet Magnificat!, however the nerves have also turned into excitement.
"I have been really nervous about it actually," Taylor said, "but lately I'm getting really excited about it. It is kind of scary because it is eight hours away."
Kristin said Taylor was always the type of kid who expressed an interest in staying close to home.
"The one thing she told us growing up was 'I am not ever going to leave the house. I'm going to live here forever,'" Kristin said. "For her to go away is just, she's one that was going to stick around. In college, you feel secure because typically you know the dorm they're going to stay in. You know they're going to be around other kids and they've got food. This one's a little different because she's going to be in an apartment complex in Jackson, Miss. And she's going to be totally on her own for food, buying groceries, trying to find a job ... all of that incorporated is a lot."
Community on 06/24/2015