Raising the Barre

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

The Northridge teen 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 Theater, one of the nation’s premier companies.

As one of five American students selected for the prestigious company’s 13-member apprentice troupe, Ashley will perform at several East Coast venues as well as possible European engagements, said Kelly Ryan, an ABT spokeswoman.

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

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

In an extraordinary move, 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’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 dance class turned extraordinary when Cynthia Harvey, former partner of Mikhail Baryshnikov and a lead dancer with American Ballet Theater, walked in and began working out with the students. Ashley later learned that Harvey and Holden were good friends.

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

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

“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 dance troupe.

“I was ecstatic,” she said. “He said that he wanted to offer me a contract with the American Ballet Theater 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 the young dancer has taken jazz, hip-hop and tap classes. 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 home-schooled her, Kathy Anderson said. She earned her high school equivalency diploma in June.

“It has always been my dream to be with American Ballet Theater 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, she 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, Ashley will begin honing her craft with 12 other international students ages 15 to 17 who were asked to join the company because of their dancing accomplishments and potential, Ryan said.

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

Ashley 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.”