This summer, 13-year-old Haley Foucault of Albertville will experience the intensity and extreme physical demands of the life of a professional ballet dancer. 

Haley will spend the month of August living in Los Angeles,  studying with the world famous American Ballet Theatre at their prestigious Summer Intensive. 

 Haley attended an open audition in Kansas City, Mo., one of 27 national sites at which the American Ballet Theatre held auditions, on Jan. 17.  More than 2,000 young dancers will audition this winter, fewer than 200 will earn a spot. And young Haley now owns one of those spots.

Currently, Haley studies at Northland School of Dance in Champlin. She is on a traveling competition line that competes and performs all over the world.  During their small summer break, Haley will fly cross country and train with the American Ballet Theatre in hopes of pushing herself to new levels by dancing alongside some of the country’s most talented young ballerinas. 

“I thought the whole audition was super exciting” Haley said. “There were so many really good girls there, I was very nervous I would not get in.  Two of my friends from Northland auditioned with me and I thought for sure they would get in, but I wouldn’t! How embarrassing!” 

Instead, all  three girls earned spots. The three friends will all spend their summer with the ABT. 

 So what is a day in the life of a student studying with a world famous ballet company?

For Haley, she will take classes 8 to 10 hours a day, Monday through Friday. Those classes will vary from classical ballet, to partnering with a boy, to dancing on pointe. At the end of the program, all students participate in a final performance dancing with the principal dancers from the ABT. This presentation showcases selections from ABT’s repertoire and new choreography created during the summer.

Haley’s parents, Jon and Ann-Marie Foucault of Albertville, support her decision to challenge herself and  try new and sometimes frightening experiences.

“Last summer Haley participated in a summer intensive at the Minnesota Dance Theater and absolutely loved the intense ballet atmosphere.” Ann-Marie explained.  “She understands ballet is the foundation for all forms of dance.  Other dancers at our studio have done summer programs with big ballet companies, and they encouraged Haley to audition alongside with them”.

 Haley hopes to follow in the footsteps of a recent Northland graduate, Maddie Swenson, who is currently a freshman at the Juilliard School in New York.

To get there though, Haley knows it will takes a few more years of sweat, tears, battered feet and broken pointe shoes to succeed in the hypercompetitive world of professional ballet.

Never mind edging out 1,800 other dancers for her spot, just getting to Kansas City was a feat in itself, the Foucault family said.  The 48 hours prior to her ABT audition, Haley was competing at the West Coast Dance Alliance competition in Minneapolis, where she earned the second-highest scoring solo (performance) of the weekend.  That event wrapped up Sunday afternoon, after which Haley and her auditioning friends and mothers rented a van and drove through the night to Kansas City. 

After only a few hours of sleep, the girls were up and positioned in a sterile and tense studio filled with dancers, trying to impress judges at what Haley called, “the most stressful, intense audition of my life."  After a full day of being judged, the group got back in the van and drove through the night again, to arrive home at 4 a.m. Tuesday morning. 

“You bet I sent her to school on Tuesday!” Ann-Marie said.  “One of the many life skills dance teaches is time management.  Haley knew that auditioning in between the West Coast competition and a school day meant she had to be on her game, be organized and be prepared.  I am really proud of her.”

Haley was interviewed by a local NBC news station in Kansas City on her experience auditioning that day. Check the external link for that video clip.