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Pat Kearse, Sarah’s mom, said she took her daughter to the try- outs on a whim after her ballet teacher suggested it. Although Sarah had been dancing for six or seven years, previous dance instruction is not required to audi- tion for the school. (Young hope~ Recognized as one of the world’s foremost ballet institutions â€" alumni include such names as Kain, Augustyn and Tennant - the school auditions more than 800 young aspiring dancers each year from across Canada and as far away as Asia. Competition is fierce and of the 100 that are cho- sen for the summer term only 45 make it into the full-time program. After auditioning earlier'this year the budding ballerinas were accepted into the school’s summer program then invited to continue on as students in the full-time pro- fessional ballet/academic program. By SARA HOLLAND Special to the Beaver Oakville’s Sarah Kearse, 9, and 11-year-old Laura Bolton are step- ping into promising futures as stu- dents of Toronto’s prestigious National Ballet School. Dancers pursue their dreams and talents ’POR TFOLIO Pat says she knows the grueling routine can be trying for a nine- year-old but believes it is worth it as long as the enthusiasm remains. The school goes from Grade 5 to 12 and since the students are Choosing to commute into Toronto each morning from her Glen Abbey home, Sarah gets up each school day at 6 am. to begin her busy schedule. For those in the full-time program, classes begin at 8:30 am. and frequently continue until 5:30 pm. During this time, students are given a unique bal- ance of enriched academic instruc- tion and rigorous ballet training and body conditioning. “This is not relaxing,” says the spirited dancer. For Sarah, being a Grade 5 stu- dent of the National Ballet School is an exciting opportunity that requires an exhausting amount of hard work. “I just about fell over. I will never forget where I was stand- ing,” she says. fuls are judged instead on musical- ity, body shape, attitude and other criteria.) Even so, Pat says she was shocked when her daughter was chosen. AKVILLE BEAVE] Living away from home doing your own laundry and maintaining a schedule without the help of Mom and Dad may seem a lot of responsibility for an 11-year-old. For Laura, it is the only way she wants to do it. She enjoys living in residence and being with her ballet school friends all the time. She calls home at night when she is not too tired and comes home on weekends to be with her family. Both mothers believe the tuition is reasonable for what the children get and agree it is worth the time and effort to allow their daughters to pursue their dreams and talents. Laura Bolton - a Grade 6 stu- dent who also began her first year after a successful audition â€" says commuting is a chore she chooses to do without. Her mother Fran says she had a positive feeling that her daughter would be chosen and when she was they decided she should live in residence. assessed on a yearly basis Pat says it is hard to plan for the future. The family is forced to “take it one week at a time.” “I think there an sacrifices, but in the end it’s worth it,” she says. National Ballet School students Sarah Kearse and Laura Bolton (Photo by Riziero Venn/Ii) FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 1993 PAGE 10