Dancer On Her Way to Ballet Stardom
Commack, NY - She may only be 14 years old but Melody Mays has already traveled to San Francisco and New Mexico. And soon she will head to Chicago. These trips, however, are not vacations. Mays, a Commack High School freshman, is a ballet dancer who has been accepted to prestigious ballet school summer intensive programs throughout the country. Her aspiration - become a professional ballet dancer.
Mays began her intense ballet studies at the age of eight with Frank Ohman of the Frank Ohman School of Ballet in Commack. She credits Ohman with giving her excellent training, guidance and encouragement. He taught her to never lose focus of her goals. Ohman describes Mays as dedicated and serious. To see her excel, he said, is inspira-tional.
Mays has performed in several of Ohman's pro-ductions of "Nutcracker" in such roles as Clara. Performing, she said, is a thrill. "You emote yourself to the audience," said Mays.
The summer intensive programs were unlike anything she had experienced. "It's very intense, not like normal ballet school," said Mays. She described a typical day in the school year as going to school, completing homework, then heading to ballet. The summer programs, however, center around ballet all day. But no complaints from Mays - she loves every minute of it. "I'd go crazy if I couldn't dance - it's definitely a positive thing," said Mays.
Last summer she was accepted into the Jillana School in New Mexico. This year she will be attend-ing the School of Ballet in Chicago. She will take with her particular words of advice from Ohman -when you set your mind to it, you can accomplish anything.
At the age of 14 she's already come a long way. •