Local auditions for New York dance school attracts hopefuls

KANSAS CITY, Missouri - A rare opportunity came to town Monday.

The School of American Ballet held auditions for its summer program.

Haley Foucault is thirteen years old and she auditioned.

"It was little nerve wracking to go in there. There's a lot of girls in there that are really good," she said.

And this is where the good hope for a chance to become great, in this case a modest building beside the Denny’s on Broadway that houses the Kansas City Ballet School.

Dancers from 12 to 18 years old were asked to perform physical feats that border on the impossible for regular people. But that's daily fare for these dancers.

"It's a pretty intense sport. There's a lot of things you have to think about when you're on bar. There's a lot of footwork," Foucault said.

And then it got harder. And harder. And they were judged, critiqued and evaluated. It was more than a little intimidating.

"I've only done one audition and it was taped," the thirteen year old admitted.

All this to try for a spot in the prestigious School of American Ballet's summer program in New York.

Everyone at the audition knew the odds were against them. Of the more than two thousand who audition during this twenty-one city tour, only two hundred will be accepted.

But inside these tiny frames beat the hearts of champions. They just want to do what they love and get better at it.

"It's a great experience.....to go in there and be with great dancers and a wonderful teacher," Foucault said.

She and her mother and some other girls drove from Minneapolis on Sunday night, arriving about 1:30 Monday morning…after two days of dance competition back home.

“Then the girls got up at 6:30 and they’re auditioning today for SAB and then ABT so we’ll leave about 7;00 and drive all the way back, get in about two-three o’clock and then we all have school in the morning,” said Ann-Marie Foucault, Haley’s mom and a teacher back in Minneapolis.

She says she’s impressed by the commitment of all the girls.

“The character that these kids exhibit is just, it’s unbelievable, that they can get up at the crack of dawn, go all day and then do homework or go into one of these things to be critiqued and come back, you know “what’s for lunch?” she said.

The dancers should get word in about two weeks telling them whether they made the program.