Youth Leaps at the Chance of a Lifetime

Standing at the barre in an Agoura Hills dance studio with her back perfectly straight, head gently tilted and slender fingers caressing the air, 17-year-old Ashley Anderson already looks much like the seasoned ballerina she hopes to become.

The Northridge teenager will move one step closer to her dream of a career as a professional dancer when she boards a jet tonight bound for New York City. There she will begin a yearlong stint as an apprentice dancer with the American Ballet Theatre, among the nation’s premier companies.

As one of five American students selected for the group’s 13-member apprentice troupe, Anderson will perform at several East Coast venues and possibly in Europe, said Kelly Ryan, a spokeswoman for the company.

“It has always been my dream to be with the American Ballet Theatre,” Anderson said. “I have worked so hard, for so long. It’s like a dream come true.”

Her story stands in sharp contrast to that of Misty Copeland, the 15-year-old Gardena dancer caught in the middle of a bitter custody dispute between her struggling single mother, Sylvia DelaCerna, and her former ballet coach, Cynthia Bradley of San Pedro.

Misty has filed a motion to be emancipated from the custody of her mother. The case is being heard in Torrance Superior Court.

“I really hate to hear about the bad that’s going on in the ballet world,” said Kathy Anderson, Ashley’s mother. “It is much nicer than what you are seeing [in Torrance]. We have had great teachers and directors all along.”

Ashley Anderson’s real-life fairy tale began in March during a ballet class taught by her instructor and mentor of five years, Stanley Holden. The ordinary session turned extraordinary when Cynthia Harvey, a former partner of Mikhail Baryshnikov and a lead dancer with American Ballet Theatre, walked in and began working out with the students. Ashley later learned that Harvey and Holden were good friends.

Harvey was so impressed with Anderson’s dancing that she called Kevin McKenzie, artistic director of American Ballet Theatre’s main company, and asked him if Anderson could attend a class with the company on tour at the time in Sacramento.

Anderson recalls feeling like a “nervous wreck” until audition day arrived.

“I was the only one auditioning in the class,” she said. “All their eyes were on me, and I knew I only had that one chance.”

The class was grueling, she said, filled with dizzying spins, intricate footwork and muscle-stretching bends that tested the limits of her youthful ability.

“The class was really hard, but it was fun,” she said. “I had a good feeling about it after it was over.”

Her belief that she had performed well was confirmed two days later when McKenzie called to offer her a spot in the apprentice troupe.

“I was ecstatic,” she said. “He said that he wanted to offer me a contract with the American Ballet Theatre, and would I consider it. I said, ‘Well, of course.’ ”

Her desire to become a ballerina, she said, has been with her since she attended her first ballet as a 3-year-old.

“My grandfather took me to see Baryshnikov in ‘Swan Lake,’ ” she said. “When I saw him dance, there was something in my heart, and I knew I had to do it.”

With the memory of that performance swirling in her mind, Ashley begged her parents for dance lessons. Over the years she has studied jazz, hip-hop and tap. But ballet is her first love, and Baryshnikov is her favorite dancer.

Dancing became such a priority for Ashley that her parents withdrew her from private school after the seventh grade and taught her at home, her mother said. Ashley earned her high school equivalency diploma in June.

“It has always been my dream to be with American Ballet Theatre, because Baryshnikov was with that company and he is my idol,” she said. “I watch his style, and I try to accomplish what he does.”

In New York, Anderson will stay at the home of Isabel Browne, the mother of ballet star Leslie Browne, who was featured in the movie “The Turning Point.”

On Monday, Anderson will begin honing her craft with 12 other international students ages 15 to 17 who were asked to join the company because of their accomplishments and potential, Ryan said.

The students will dance eight hours a day, five days a week, under the watchful eye of apprentice company director John Meehan, Ryan said.

Anderson is looking forward to moving on to the next level. “I hope to dance forever, but I’m sure I can’t,” she said. “But it’s something I still want to be involved in when my dancing days are over.”