Pacific Northwest Ballet Summer Intensive

I'm Zoe Birdsong, and I have been dancing classical ballet since I was 3 years old.


In 2021, I was invited to attend the prestigious Lynch Dance Institute Pre-Professional Training Program (PTP). It is a rigorous full-time program for dancers who have been identified as having the talent/ability to go on to have professional dancing careers. I dance 25 hours a week and am home-schooled. My goal is to join a professional company right out of high school or obtain a college scholarship for dance, and then go to a professional company. BALLET IS MY LIFE.

There is a highly competitive national audition process to be selected for a Summer Intensive with a professional ballet company. They are looking to groom future members of their own companies. Since I was 12, I spent my first summer with the Los Angeles Ballet Company and the past 3 summers with American Ballet Theater. This year, I was accepted into every company I auditioned for (American Ballet Theater, Austin Ballet, Ballet West, Pacific Northwest Ballet).

It was so hard to decide as all of the companies are amazing, but I accepted the invitation from Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) in Seattle, WA, this year. PNB's aesthetic is for tall, athletic dancers, which is a perfect fit for me.

The program is 5 weeks long, and we train literally day and night with some of the best dancers and choreographers in the world!

 

My mom and grandma do all they can financially for me, and all of your past donations helped get me to where I am now.

 

We know we aren't the only people with financial limitations. Small amounts were the majority of the donations I received in the past, so any amount you or your company can give counts. Even if you can't give, your social media messages of support help keep me motivated and make me feel like I am part of a community that wants to see me succeed, which makes my heart full.

 

I'll be posting more information about the program, a day in my life as a ballerina, and updates all summer long.

 

Thank you to everyone who has been cheering from the sidelines, coming to my shows, and supporting me all along the way. It has meant more than you know.

 

See you this summer!

 

Zoe Birdsong