Alexa Torres is a professional dancer with The Washington Ballet. At just 14 years old, she moved by herself from the Dominican Republic to the United States in order to train at The Kirov Academy in D.C. She went on to join The Washington Ballet as a trainee after placing in the top twelve of the Youth America Grand Prix ballet competition. Besides being a beautiful dancer, her sunny disposition and bright smile light up whatever room (or ballet studio) she happens to be in!
1. To get off to an unconventional start, please write a poem that describes what dancing feels like to you.
Dance feels like home. time stops for that moment. And takes me to another world.
2. How did you get into dancing? How did you become a professional dancer?
I remember so vividly watching my very first ballet in Miami, which was The Sleeping Beauty…I was three. This is kind of what got me into dancing. I wasn’t allowed to start until I was four, so starting was my birthday gift. I was obsessed with it from the very beginning, and that feeling never went away; it just grew. I always knew that it was what I was meant to do. I always felt very comfortable onstage. I got in to the year-round program of The Kirov Academy here in D.C., and that was the first time I felt like the idea of moving from the Dominican Republic to pursue my dreams was actually a tangible thing. I did NOT think I would actually have the guts to move, though. Even sitting in the airplane, I was thinking, “Nope, not real.” Seven years later, here we are…still feels surreal. I trained at The Kirov for three years and then proceeded to try Youth America Grand Prix. Long story short, I actually made it to the finals, and there Julie Kent (artistic director of The Washington Ballet) watched me in class and later asked me to come audition. I then joined The Washington Ballet as a trainee. One year later, I was offered a spot in the studio company and had the pleasure of performing in The Sleeping Beauty that year. I remember being backstage on opening night in my Fairy of Joy costume holding my colleague Alex Pappajohn’s hand so tightly, thinking to myself, “This is a dream, pinch me.” I was sure I was exactly where I needed to be.
3. Did dancing help you through anything difficult in your life?
I guess it helped me find myself. It wasn’t anything specific (of course I had difficult times), but it was more of a fitting in thing. I had always felt so weird in school not really wanting to do anything other than dance. It was very difficult to make people understand that ballet was actually what I was going to live for, not college. I experienced a lot of ignorant comments and critiques in regards to what I was going to do with my future. I remember people older than me (even adults) saying things along the lines of, “You need to go to college; you can’t make a living out of ballet.” They even called my parents crazy for supporting me. I just remember leaving school early and being so happy to be able to go back to my place of safety and comfort. Ballet became my safe haven for that. I knew that as long as I could go dance I would be able to deal with the negativity.
4. What obstacles have you had to overcome to continue pursuing your profession?
A very big obstacle, probably even bigger than moving away from the Dominican Republic, was my knee injury. I dislocated my meniscus and tore my medial patellar ligament. I was on crutches for months and did not fully come back until a year later. I had never experienced anything like it…nothing. It was like an absolute shock to my brain and body. I lost all muscle and all strength on my right leg entirely. It was such an intense feeling of fear and emptiness. I was unmotivated and tired…tired of physical therapy and of long sixth position* barres. I did keep going, though. It was the thought of, “Why give up now this far in?” I couldn’t even say the word “quit” out loud, although I thought about it a lot. My mom also made an impact during this time. She kept telling me to look at the process and the progress I had already made. I just had to keep going. Now I look back and am grateful for it, because I am so much more aware of myself and am much more in tune with my body.
*Editor’s note: Sixth position in ballet refers to a parallel position in which the toes point straight forward.
5. Tell us your funniest story about the dance world.
I really thought I’d struggle thinking of something, but one thing came to mind almost immediately…It was during my second Nutcracker with The Washington Ballet. I remember it was one of the first nights I was dancing Clara, and it was one of my only nights too because I was already performing a few other roles. I was so excited to relive my alter ego as a 20 year old. Anyway, the show began, and it was so much fun. Party scene was flowing nicely, and I felt very engaged with the audience and with the character. I was living my best Christmas fantasy. Then came time for Drosselmeyer to give me the awaited nutcracker…He pulled it out and gave it to me. Immediately, I knew something was not right. The nutcracker felt…loose. I went on to do my solo. Right as I started, literally seconds in, I felt the head pop off from the body. I started dancing quite nervously, thinking “What am I going to do now?” I had two parts of one nutcracker, and Fritz hadn’t even touched him yet. I finished my solo with yes, two parts of a nutcracker. I decided to finally just fling the legs into the guests. I had a head…just a head. Fritz ended up breaking a nutcracker head, and Drosselmeyer fixed a nutcracker head…it was just way too funny.
6. In your time as a dancer, what’s the craziest thing that has ever happened to you?
Probably has to be the time during a competition in Jackson, Mississippi when Julie Kent walked in to teach a class, and there were literal paparazzi taking pictures of her. Later on in the class she gave me a correction, and everyone filmed it. People then came up to me afterwards and were asking, “Have you ever hugged Julie? What is she like? Is she really that perfect in real life?” And my response was…heck yea.
7. What would you say to someone who is hesitant to go see a ballet performance?
I know it may be intimidating to go…thinking about it definitely is, but you won’t regret it. It is so much more than just going to a ballet performance; it is a short peek at another world through a carefully constructed glass. It may even touch you, or it may simply make you feel something. We work so hard to put anything onstage that I am sure you will see that hard work, BUT it will be deep behind a fantasy world. Dance is a way to express and to communicate without a single word, and I think that is reason enough to go.
8. If you had only one sentence to convince someone of the importance of the arts, what would you say?
Without art there is no inspiration, and without inspiration there is no growth.
9. If ballet had a slogan, what would it be? Or if you had a slogan, what would it be?
Ballet: Immense difficulty made to look easy.
Alexa: Small but mighty HAHA
Responses edited by Adelaide Clauss
Dancers Are 