Tara Sweeney is a student and teaching assistant at the Saratoga Springs Youth Ballet who performed with the New York City Ballet at SPAC in productions of “Coppélia” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Currently a senior at Johnstown High School, Sweeney will attend Vassar College this fall to study English and Dance.
Saratoga TODAY asked Sweeney about her many accomplishments, as well as her future plans.
Q: What was it like performing with the New York City Ballet (NYCB)?
A: Performing with the NYCB was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Not only were the instructors kind and considerate but so were the dancers. I was expecting them to ignore us children in the ballet but they talked and welcomed us and it made the experience memorable. It was a new experience dancing for four or more hours a day, every day, and it heightened my love for ballet.
What are some things about ballet that the general public might not understand?
A: Most people in the general public do not understand how much of a commitment dance is. I dance every single day after school and on Saturdays and it is extremely time consuming, if not more than a school sport. I dedicate my time to coming to dance class every week and preparing for my numerous performances throughout the year. Something people may also not know is that dance is not just during the school year. In order to maintain your ballet technique over the summer break, dancers attend summer intensives where we dance all day long for at least 5-6 weeks of the summer.
What are your future career plans/goals?
A: In my future, I plan to have a writing career of some sort in the form of journalism, article writing, publishing and editing, or novel writing. I also enjoy literature and could imagine a career in library studies or museum work. My passion for dance persists and I will be dancing in college and I hope to either continue dancing in my future or become a dance teacher.
