Ballet Magnificat Trainee Program!

It is with great joy I write you the ecstatic news of my plans for the 2017-2018 school year, and most likely the rest of my dancing career. In February of this year I was advised I had been accepted and invited to join Ballet Magnificats! Trainee program beginning this coming fall! Not only did I make it through their audition process, but I have been accepted into the Trainee II program, also known as Ballet Magnificat’s! Events Company, which means I have shaved off two years of the trainee program. My dream has already been fulfilled by being accepted into their program, and my next goal is to be accepted into either their Alpha or Omega Company within a year of beginning the training program. This has been a goal of mine since attending their Summer Intensive program in 2010 and 2012. It was following completion of the summer 2010 Intensive that I knew it was with Ballet Magnificat where I wished to share the gift of dance the LORD has given me.

You may be wondering, "Claire, it's 2017...what took you so long?!" Great question!
First, a student can only audition for Ballet Magnificat once high school graduation has been achieved. Secondly, I did not feel qualified or technically strong enough to be a student in their program, so I endeavored to improve. I desired to train at a higher and harder level for the purpose of having a better chance at being selected during the audition process of the Ballet Magnificats! Trainee program. I moved away from home in Tennessee at the age of seventeen to train with the Huntsville Ballet School/Company and rented a little room from an elderly lady in Huntsville, Alabama (2014-2015). I learned how hard being an adult can be, but also how faithful my Heavenly Father is to continually provide and keep me in His care!

The next place God had planned for me on my journey was something I did not anticipate. I was led to The Indianapolis School of Ballet in Indianapolis, Indiana (2016-2017). For the past two years I have trained with ISB while having the incredible blessing of living with my grandparents. In the midst of personal challenges and difficulties there was joy and unexpected opportunities. One joy in particular arrived when I had the opportunity to work at the Cake Bake Shop in Broad Ripple (https://thecakebakeshop.com/). This inspirational, high-end bakery provided an atmosphere where I discovered a love for the restaurant industry like I had never experienced earlier. As a result, I was beginning to contemplate a significant decision that I was going to need to make at the end of the 2016-2017 school year regarding The Cake Bake Shop versus my dancing career. After three years of intense training without much of a break, I was becoming physically and mentally exhausted. I determined to wait until I had received the news from Ballet Magnificat! after auditioning in December of 2016, but I was seriously considering ending my ballet aspirations entirely to pursue working full-time at the Cake Bake Shop because I had found a new level of energy and joy there which I was having difficulty maintaining in my dancing endeavors.

The LORD knew my heart and my inward struggle. On February 14th, His Valentine came to me in the form of an acceptance letter from Ballet Magnificat and was a clear sign directing my steps to the next step on my journey (Prov. 16:9). Ballet Magnificat! is going to be a totally different, and better, environment for me in the community of dance. I am very excited and I look forward to what God has in store during this next season of life! The challenges and difficulties of the past three years have deepened my relationship with God while teaching me many things that will benefit my resolve as I join a professional Christian ballet company dedicated to “presenting the good news of Jesus Christ to the whole world”!

(Photo of my first Summer Intensive at Ballet Magnificat! in 2010)

All along my journey, the LORD has provided. At Huntsville Ballet, as well as the Indianapolis School of Ballet, I was blessed to receive full scholarships and opportunities to teach the younger children in each of the dance programs, as well as to have the chance to minister and serve those in the community who were less fortunate through inner city outreach programs associated with the dance school.

I continue to trust the LORD for my financial needs as I transition to Jackson, Mississippi. As I prepare to join Ballet Magnificat in the fall of 2017, I will need to raise the funds necessary to support my living expenses as well as the normal ballet necessities that come with being a full-time dancer. Through the months of June-August, my goal is to raise $6,400 through the generous support of family and friends in order to prepare for ministry with Ballet Magnificat.

If you are reading this letter, then my first appeal is for your prayer support. This is the most important and significant gift you can give me. I need your ‘believing prayers’; as John Wesley aptly points out, “God does nothing except in response to believing prayer”, and “prayer is where the action is.” Should the LORD and His Holy Spirit lead you to take any additional action beyond prayer, I invite you to follow me along the Ballet Magnificat road by subscribing to this blog so that you can see regular updates I share during my continuing journey. I am also providing additional contact information should you desire to support me financially.

Thank you for allowing me to share what God is doing in my life and how He is faithfully guiding my steps as I daily choose to follow and trust Him. I wish to leave you with words that represent my heart as I press forward into the upward call of God in Christ Jesus:

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” –Matthew 6:33

“O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!” -Psalm 34:3

Gratefully yours,
Claire

If you are interested in supporting me financially as I enter into training for full-time dance ministry, you can contact me in several ways provided below:

ANOTHER WAY TO GIVE
SUPPORT: https://www.paypal.me/clairequint