Larry Lancaster to PNB

What started as a little boy curious about how Michael Jackson did the Moonwalk turned into a fond admiration of how Mikhail Baryshnikov soared across the stage with such grace and agility and is now my dream. I’ve been dancing since I was born. Movement has always been my first form of self-expression. My first time on stage was when I was 6, and the rush of performing has been a feeling I’ve been chasing ever since. At 10, I started taking ballet classes and haven’t stopped! I was selected as a student of the Estelle Dennis/Peabody Dance Training Program for Boys which is a tuition-free dance program for boys who have the potential and strong desire to dance. I continued to chase dancing by becoming astudent at the TWIGS Program at Baltimore School for the Arts (BSA). I was taking classes every Saturday and my interest and love for dance grew. The chase continued. I auditioned for the BSA High School Dance Program. Waiting to hear if I were accepted into the program was probably more nerve racking than preparing for the audition and going through callbacks. The day that the letter from BSA came in the mail, I was even more nervous and excited to know if I were accepted and I WAS! I poured myself into working and training harder as a dancer. I have had the opportunity to train at the School of American Ballet, AileyCamp Baltimore, Dance Happens, Inc. and Ballet Nouveau. Since being a student in the BSA TWIGS Program and now the high school, I have danced in many productions of the Nutcracker where I danced the roles of Fritz, Lieutenant Toy Soldier, and Toy Soldier. Just this past December, I was the Cavalier in the Nutcracker.

Then in March, everything changed! Schools closed. Dance classes were being done virtually. It was definitely a challenge, but I didn’t relent. I trained harder. I kept up my training and was accepted into the Pacific Northwest Ballet Summer Course which was a 4-week intense online program during the month of July. During the last week of this program, I was invited to be a part of their Professional Division which is a two-year advanced training program for students planning a professional dance career which is what I want. The program starts in September in Seattle, WA. A program of this magnitude costs a great deal of money! And this is where I need your help in continuing my chase of becoming a professional ballet dancer. To ensure that I’m able to take advantage of this opportunity, there is a great deal of money to be raised, not only, for tuition, but for living expenses, dance supplies, and travel. With your help, you can be a part of my success story in becoming a professional ballet dancer.  There is not any donation that is too big or too small! I ask that you make a donation as my chase of becoming a professional ballet dance is within my grasp.

Thank you.
#LL2PNB