Alina A TARAToRin INSIDE THE WORLD OF A COMPETITIVE BALLERINA Text by MICHELLE KIM and GRACE LINDSTROM Photos by ZOË WONG-VANHAREN
S SHE POSES for pictures in the photo studio, every move she makes is graceful and delicate. Her arms float above her head and unhurried steps guide her body through the room. She poses for the camera shyly as though she has never been met with a public audience, but the hundreds of thousands of people who have watched her performances on YouTube beg to differ. 17-year-old Alina Taratorin, a senior at Palo Alto High School, leads a busy life as an aspiring ballerina. A three-time winner of the World Ballet Competition, Taratorin is more than just a casual dancer; she competes in local and regional ballet competitions and has trained tirelessly for performances since she was in elementary school. “I started [ballet] when I was six. My sister did ballet when she was little … [and] I [wanted] to be just like her,” Taratorin says. “We put on these little shows for my mom, so [she] decided to take me to classes.” When she began classes at Bayer Ballet in Redwood City, California, the dance community immediately clicked with Taratorin; she still trains there today over 10 years after her first lesson. It’s easy to assume that with a sport as competitive as ballet, time commitments and pressure from teammates can create a stressful environment for young athletes. Taratorin, however, maintains a positive outlook about the sport. “[Though] dance is very competitive
DAZZLING DANCER Alina Taratorin has been dancing since she was six years old. “[I] used to put on little shows for my mom,” she says.
34 OCTOBER 2019