Dancer Spotlight: Nathan Young
Name: Nathan Young
Hometown: Little Rock, AR
Company Member Since: 2018
Instagram: @nyoung11509
What’s your “origin story”? How did you fall in love with ballet?
In the 7th grade, I was attending a public middle school in Little Rock that had a boy’s dance program. After seeing the reaction from the crowd during the dance showcase, I knew I wanted to be a part of it. The class was packed with boys of all ages and skill levels, and was a very popular class. Not long after, a friend of mine said they needed boys at her ballet school in town- so two of my closest friends and I joined and started taking classes a few times a week. We would clean the building and tape the marley floors in exchange for classes. I was told to “follow along” the most advanced dancers and had a very expedited training schedule, with technique and pas de deux every night.
I realized dance could take me far when I was able to leave Arkansas alone for the first time and attend a summer intensive in Long Beach, CA on full scholarship. After four years of training in Little Rock and a number of summer intensives, I was accepted into the University of Oklahoma School of Dance on full scholarship; this university is where I realized my true love for dance because of the repertoire we performed and the passion instilled by my professors. Without that 7th grade public school dance program and the generosity of many program directors around the country, I wouldn’t be a professional dancer today
Do you have any pre-show rituals or good-luck habits?
I tend to try and replicate behavior or a clothing item that I wore the night before. That could be a good-luck belt or having the same kind of kombucha as the previous night! It sound a little OCD and it kind of is.
Ballet is so demanding- how do you take care of your body and recharge offstage?
As I get older, I’ve embraced the benefits of hot yoga on my days off to maintain flexibility and strength. After an intense rehearsal day, I’ll take a bath to soothe my tired muscles. Also one cold beer for my mental health!
What’s your go-to comfort food after a long rehearsal day?
Chips and salsa!
Dancer memories are super-charged. How do you keep track of choreography?
Luckily for us, repetition of steps is built in to the rehearsal process. So, as we run a piece of choreography multiple times, it starts to become more familiar and easier to remember the next time. Before rehearsal is a great time for me to review material so I can ask my colleagues questions and be ready for when rehearsal starts.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received about dancing- or life in general?
I have two: “No one thinks about you as much as you do,” and “You have to do something else outside of work/dance.”
Aside form shoes and warmups, what is a staple in your dance bag?
Deodorant!
Where do you see ballet heading in the next few years, and what excites you most about being part that future?
I see ballet continuing to be the enriching, fulfilling, and inspiring art form that it has always been. No matter what city I’m watching dance in, Detroit, New York, Los Angeles, the audiences are always packed and enthusiastic for great dance, and that is always reassuring. Specifically in Grand Rapids, I believe our reputation will continue to grow and the repertoire we perform for audiences will stay high-caliber and make it a place that dancers want to come and stay. It’s exciting to me to see audience members’ curiosity about what it takes to put on a production and be a dancer, and being able to be an advocate on how to participate or support dance.
