My Dance Story | January 2014

Olivia Behrmann, Age 15

My dance story began when I was 7 years old. After trying soccer, cheerleading, and gymnastics, my mom enrolled me in a ballet/tap/jazz combination class, and from then on, I was hooked! My first ballet costume was a lavender and cream dress, and I wore it in my first performance -- my studio's end of year recital.

After my first year of ballet and jazz, I went on to do competition dance for 4 years until the age of 12, when I quit competition dance to pursue classical ballet. When I was young, I loved learning new steps and wearing pretty costumes. As I have gotten older, I find that I love the challenge of not only learning new steps, but trying to perfect them. I love that in ballet, there are always things to work on and improve, and that I can push myself to be better than I was yesterday and the day before.

Now I am 15 years old, and my dream is to become a professional ballerina. I currently do my school online because I spend 30+ hours a week at the studio, and I have spent the last 2 summers training in New York City (in 2012 at Valentina Kozlova's Dance Conservatory of New York and in 2013 at The School of American Ballet). I have won numerous scholarships (for both cash and programs), and in 2012, I won 3rd place in the Junior Classical division of the YAGP Indianapolis regional and went on to compete in the YAGP New York City finals -- all in my Russian Pointe Sapfirs!