Preteen ballerina returns from intensive summer program even more intent on professional career

No wonder seventh-grade classmates at Brookstone School call her "Lily Gristina, the Ballerina."

Her name not only rhymes with that noun, but she is considered one of the nation's best among her peers.

At 11 years old, Lily was one of 20 in her age group selected from across the country to attend this year's prestigious Summer Dance Program at the Boston Ballet School, a five-week intensive course in classical ballet.

Now, having turned 12 and back in Columbus, Lily is determined to use that experience - the longest she has been away from home - as more motivation to do what it takes to become a professional ballerina.

"I love it because when I'm dancing and I hear the music, I feel like I'm free and I feel really happy about what I'm doing," she said last month while warming up for a class at Columbus State University's Rankin Arts Center. " I like when we do big jumps, and I feel like I'm flying."

Sacrifice

Lily has been taking ballet lessons since she was 3. Her mother, Joanne, grew up in Toronto and was a figure skater, but Columbus has more dance floors than ice rinks.

"I think every mom likes the idea of their daughter in a tutu," Joanne said. "It was good for her to get some energy out."

Lily also tried gymnastics and tennis, but ballet stuck.

Lisa Carter, director of the CSU Dance Conservatory, explained what stands out about Lily.

"She is very talented but also musical, which is hard to find these days," said Carter, who trained at the Royal Academy of Dance. "She is also extremely dedicated. From this young age, she knows that ballet is her calling, and she works like a dog to achieve her goals."

Indeed, taking dance classes six days per week leaves little time for anything else outside of school. Lily misses some socializing with friends, but the rewards are worth the sacrifices.

"I care a lot more about this than that," she said.

Perseverance

That's why Lily persevered through her initial homesickness in the summer program while housed at Lasell College in Newton, Mass.

"It was something I had to get used to," she said. " I think I really adapted to the program and got used to all the girls there, and they were really nice."

But the training was tough.

"It was very intense," she said.

The pace simulated the life of a professional dancer in a company.

"That ritual, that kind of grind, the class all day and the rehearsals at night," Carter said, "it shows them, 'If you're serious, this is what it looks like.'"

Lily certainly is serious about ballet.

"Yes," she said with a smile. "I just like dancing all day. Some people get tired of it, but I think I'm one of those people who love it that much."

Concern

Her mother insists she wasn't concerned about the heavy load.

"I know her personality, and she was the one who was driving the desire to go," Joanne said. "She's very passionate about dancing, and when she sets her mind to something, she usually can handle it."

Mama, however, was concerned about her daughter being away from home for that long.

"But she was able to make phone calls on the weekends," Joanne said, "and I got a good sense of her enjoyment in those conversations. I could tell she was doing just fine."

Except for the first night. Lily had trouble sleeping.

"I was just really worried," she said, "because the next day we were going to be placed in classes, and I wanted to do really well."

And except for the last day. Lily cried about the program being over.

"She didn't want to come home," Joanne said with a laugh. "She could have stayed another five weeks."

Even the soreness from dancing 6-8 hours per day at Boston summer program instead of the 2-3 hours per day in Columbus didn't dissuade Lily.

"My toes hurt a lot," she said, "so I iced my feet and put a bunch of Band-Aids and toe tape all over them."

Her mother accepts the physical strain this elite level of ballet puts on her daughter.

"It's part of it," Joanne said. "I knew that was going to happen with as much dancing as she was going to be doing. But, actually, I was put at ease there because they had a nurse on staff for all of the residents. There was 96 total there, and the nurse just happened to be her next door neighbor in the dorm."

Carter likens en pointe dancers to other "extreme" athletes.

"You have the aches and pains and the issues that go along with that," she said. "But these days, with the technology of the shoes, if you've got bruised toenails, if you've got really bad blisters, there's something wrong with the fit of the shoes."

Confidence

Despite being selected after an audition in Atlanta, Lily wasn't sure she would fit in the Boston program, which Carter called one of the top five in the United States.

"I just told myself that it was OK if I wasn't as good as some of the other girls," Lily said. "That made me a lot better."

Carter coached her through that mentality. If she stands at the barre next to a ballerina who can stretch her leg up to her ear, that girl's form might be all wrong, Carter told Lily, "so stick to what you know. Stay true to your values. Understand that you've had really good training, and just trust in that and go with that."

It's all part of the journey from the local to regional to national level.

"That's why I kind of urge them to go out of the little pond," Carter said. "They have to see what's out there."

After she talked herself through the nervousness, Lily realized she could dance as well as the other ballerinas in the program. One day, she performed a difficult combination across the floor, and the instructor took her to the side and complimented her.

"When you get called by a teacher like that," Carter said, "that's really kind of big."

Lily also had to deal with disappointment during the program. An instructor complimented a rival - but not her -- after another difficult combination.

"I felt competitive toward her, so I was kind of upset," she said. "She was kind of bragging about it, and I was like, 'She's being a little bit arrogant,' but I got over it."

Carter noted the value of such a lesson.

"You can't let that sort of stuff get to you," she said. "Competitive people know that there's a way in, and they'll pick at that if you let them."

Opportunity

A preteen ballerina's glimpse of national exposure can lead to more opportunities.

"Ballet is really a small world," Carter said. " These days, the companies all handpick from the summer schools. So it starts already at this age. At 18, they don't want some unknown who's going to be gorgeous but doesn't have the right mindset or the right work ethic."

Lily's summer school performance could produce an invitation for next year, without an audition and perhaps with a scholarship, putting her on the road to a vocational ballet school for year-round training, Carter said.

"She is mature beyond her years and she gets it and understands that, at the end of the day, only she can make it happen through sheer hard work," Carter said. "This career path is a huge amount of work and sacrifice, and she's willing to put in that work and give things up to see her dream realized."

Mark Rice, 706-576-6272. Follow him on Twitter@MarkRiceLE.

This story was originally published September 6, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Preteen ballerina returns from intensive summer program even more intent on professional career ."