September 21, 2006 Issue                                       

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©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

Ex-Springside lass dances her way into Boston Ballet
by JEROME O’NEILL

Miller left Springside School to pursue her dream, and now she’s dancing with the Boston Ballet.

In describing ballet, George Balanchine, the foremost 20th century choreographer in the world of ballet, once said, “You have to see the music and hear the dance.” Caitlin Miller of Chestnut Hill has been aspiring to do just that for most of her life, and recently, she has taken the next step in reaching her goals.

Miller, 19, accepted a position with the Boston Ballet this summer and is busy preparing for her first season with the company. Her days are filled with performance rehearsals and classes for repertoire, technique and point where she works to build and improve upon her basic foundation. The standards for a professional dancer are high, but Miller’s drive and desire are even higher.

“I’ve been doing ballet as long as I can remember,” said Miller. “At six years old, I started it as a hobby, as something many little girls do.”

Miller attended Springside and while in kindergarten she and five other girls began carpooling together to ballet classes. However, as the years passed, one by one the other girls quit ballet to pursue other interests. Miller, however, continued with classes at the Wissahickon Dance Academy. After school, she would race home for a quick meal, then attend classes until 8 every night.

“After a while none of my friends did ballet, and I felt left out of things,” said Miller. “My friends would make plans to go out, but I could never go. When I reached middle school at Springside, classes became more rigorous, and the ballet became more intense demanding more hours for dance.”

Miller reached a crossroads in eighth grade when her mother, Joleen, recognized ballet was becoming more than just an after-school activity for her daughter.

“She asked me if I wanted to keep going, and I could not stop dancing,” said Miller, who found new inspiration for ballet in the summer programs she started attending. She was no longer alone. “Everybody had the same goals and dreams, which was so different from the rest of the year.”

One of the programs she attended was at the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington D.C., and Miller was given the opportunity to audition for the year-round program. Each year only a few students are asked to stay, and to her delight, Miller was one of them.

“That was the turning point for me,” said Miller. “That’s when I first started considering my dedication to ballet.”

It was not an easy decision for the teenager. She realized Springside would not understand the demands ballet would put on her. However, she also knew she would be sacrificing her education.

“Am I going to make ballet my career and give up a first-rate high school?” Miller remembered asking herself.

In the end, Miller trusted her heart. She left Springside and enrolled in the Kirov Academy in Washington D.C. for her four years of high school. “It is basically a ballet boarding school with kids from all over the world,” said Miller. “We would have academics until noon, Pilates and yoga classes to improve flexibility and endurance, and we would have repertoire, technique and point classes for the special shoes that allow us to stand on our toes.”

Ballet is an extremely physical discipline that makes demands on so many muscles in a very specific way. A balance of endurance and quick energy is needed throughout performances that can last two to three hours. At the Kirov Academy, Miller trained in the Russian style and excelled in her development.

“There were two weeks in the summer when I didn’t dance,” said Miller. “But I would train and dance six days a week with Sundays off. Ballet is such a precise form that if you stop dancing for one week you start to lose your level.”

Miller also developed a better understanding of her art at the Kirov Academy. “Ballet is an illusion. It looks easy and effortless, but behind the scenes it’s very demanding.” Miller stated. The next big step in Miller’s journey came this year when she completed a whirlwind tour of auditions for professional ballet companies. Miller auditioned in Amsterdam, Munich, Vienna and almost every major city in the United States before narrowing her search to two companies, the Houston Ballet and the Boston Ballet.

“I was all set to go to Houston, but Boston had all the things I was looking for, and I was happy dancing there.” Miller said. “Boston made me remember why I love dancing, and that’s where I wanted to be.”

In late June, Miller left for Boston to do what she has always dreamed about; to dance professionally. “It’s a good environment to work in,” said Miller. “I’m performing in the second company and getting the best of both worlds performing for an audience and at the same time taking Miller recently performed in the Boston Ballet summer program showcase, and it helped her remember how her dream began.

“It was the most fun I ever had dancing,” said Miller. “So many people from the audience came up to me and said they were moved by my performance. One little girl said I made her cry, and it’s moments like that that are most rewarding. It makes me want to do it for the rest of my life.”

At 19, Miller already has 13 years of experience in ballet, and her parents, John and Joleen, along with her older sister, Tara, and younger brothers Ian and Cole have been her biggest source of support. Tara graduated from Springside and Ian and Cole attend Chestnut Hill Academy.

“I could not do it without them.” said Miller. “My mom drove me to practice until I was 14, and I don’t think she’s missed a performance. My dad made all the auditions possible where I got to experience so much. And my brothers and sister come see me perform, which means so much.”

Miller’s next goal is to dance for Boston’s first company, and she knows she will have to continue working hard and proving herself. However, for a moment she can look back and reflect on how far she has come.

“It’s taught me a lot. It takes so much commitment and dedication, and you have to sacrifice so much else,” said Miller. “It shows me what I’m capable of.”

As she enters this new stage in her career, Miller continues to move audiences with her dance and prove that little girls’ dreams can come true.