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Contact:

Dianna Cuatto, Artistic Director

410-224-5644

btmmgr@balletmaryland.org; dckessler@comcast.net

Ballet Theatre of Maryland’s (BTM’s) most recent high school graduate, Laura Pimpo, has been accepted into the Professional Division at Texas Ballet Theater (TBT) for the 2017-2018 Season.  Texas Ballet Theatre is under the artistic direction of Ben Stevenson, formerly of the Houston Ballet, who is a wonderful director and choreographer!

When I first met Laura, she was a wide-eyed 6 year-old taking classes in BTM’s school along with her mother Cindy and sister Abigail.  She auditioned for one of the children’s roles in our production of Romeo & Juliet that year.  It was evident even at that tender age that Laura was not only talented but, more importantly, hard-working, intelligent, diligent and passionate.  Through the years, she advanced through the school and into BTM’s Pre-Professional Training Program, where she danced about 25 hours per week in classes as well as rehearsed for appropriate student roles in company productions.  She worked hard to excel at everything she was given and often exceeded expectations by going the extra mile learning additional roles and helping other dancers learn the ropes. 

I got a chance to catch up with Laura last week when she returned home from TBT’s Summer Intensive before she leaves for the Company’s Season.

I asked her some questions that are worth sharing as she embarks on this new phase on her journey to becoming a professional dancer

Question:   What do you most aspire to in a dance career? 

Answer:   To be happy and fulfilled wherever I’m dancing.

Question:  What are you looking most forward to on this next step to becoming a dancer?

Answer:  I am most excited about working with a new set of teachers in a new place where I can continue to grow as a dancer and as a person.

Question:  What have you learned so far from attending TBT’s Summer Intensive for the past two years?

Answer:  To relax—everything is so relaxed.  They also worked a lot on artistry.

Question:  What will you most take away with you from your training with BTM?

Answer:  The atmosphere and the people shaped who I am as a dancer and as a person.  It has given me the drive to be successful and taught me to be hard-working, persistent, and passionate about what I do.

Question:  What advice would you give to other aspiring young dancers?

Answer:  Do it because you enjoy it and love it!  If not, it will be even more difficult than it already is.  It is a demanding sport and art, but rewarding if you love it!

All of us at BTM are very proud of her and her work.  She will be missed, but will continue to grow and evolve as an artist and a person wherever life takes her.

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Ballet Theatre of Maryland (BTM), located in Annapolis, Md., is designated as the premier professional ballet company by Governor O’Malley for the state of Maryland.  BTM is the largest Professional Company in the state, supporting 18 full-time paid professional dancers plus 12 Apprentices and 6 Trainee Level 3s.  BTM’s School of Classical and Contemporary dance has a professional faculty with teachers still current in the field.  All are either certified with a top school, such as the San Francisco Ballet, or have degrees in dance education from top universities.  Our school has locations in Annapolis, Brooklyn Park and Easton, serving students ages 2 through adult and pre-professional.  For more information about BTM, visit us at www.balletmaryland.org or call 410-263-8289.

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