ATLANTA — The very best ballet students in the south are competing for the chance to one-day turn pro.
Channel 2′s Berndt Petersen was at Georgia Tech, where some exclusive scholarships are on the line.
They are awarded to the best of the best by the most prestigious ballet academies in the U.S. and Europe.
The talent at Georgia Tech is off the charts.
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Elsa Kusky says it happens the second she takes the stage.
“Something in me snaps on. I’m like, okay. This is it,” Kusky said.
She is one of the competitors at the Youth America Grand Prix.
“Somebody called us the Olympic Games of ballet,” artistic director Alexei Moskalenko said.
It’s an annual worldwide competition. A semifinal was held on Monday and Tuesday at Georgia Tech.
“It’s the world’s largest ballet competition for students,” International City School of Ballet Director Georne Aucoin said.
Winners are offered scholarships at the best ballet academies in the U.S. and Europe.
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Atlanta’s Jolie Rose Lombardo won a few years back and went on to land a job with the Stuttgart Ballet in Germany.
“Getting to do what you love as your job is indescribable. I made it. I achieved my goal. I’m a ballerina,” Lombardo said.
Miharu Kikuchi would love to follow in her footsteps.
“Nothing else can give me this much joy as dancing. It would mean so much to me if I can do it as a living,” Kikuchi said.
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That’s Kusky’s dream too. It started in preschool.
“I think it’ll take me so many places. I want to do everything I can,” Kusky said.
The Youth Grand Prix finals are in New York City in April.
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