For little girls, ballet lessons are a rite of passage. More than anything lessons are an hour of socializing with friends, wearing pink tutus, and staring at yourself in the mirror. However, a select few girls appreciate the elegance of a pirouette and revel in the perfection required of a true ballerina. You can count Annie Boczek as one of those few.

From the moment she saw the Nutcracker at age four, Annie has known she wanted to be a ballerina. Ever since then, she has been working hard to do so. Growing up in Maryland, Annie took standard ballet classes until middle school when she began at the Ballet Theatre of Maryland.

The summer after her eighth grade year Annie took an intensive program there, and when she moved to Charlottesville Annie continued her ballet training with Albemarle Ballet.

Over the past two years, Annie took extra classes with her dance teacher and traveled to places like Pennsylvania to participate in summer programs. This previous summer, Annie spent one week at Indiana University, one week at Charlottesville Ballet, and returned to spend five weeks at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, taking up to four classes a day. Annie wanted to return to Pennsylvania to train during the school year, but her mom, wanting her to be closer to home, instead contacted the co-directors of Charlottesville Ballet.

“They said that I should come take a class and see how it was and they invited me to be a trainee about two weeks before school started which was kind of hectic,” Annie said. So, this year Annie has been dancing at the Charlottesville Ballet Academy, while simultaneously completing her senior year. On odd days, Annie will come to school for first period, go dance for a couple of hours, and rush back just in time for seventh period. “I only have two classes now, so it’s an easier workload, but I hate running from government to ballet”, she said.

Like every other senior, Annie is in the process of trying to figure out what she wants to do next year. As of now, Annie has been accepted to a summer program in Boston, and is considering taking a gap year next year while continuing to dance. After college, Annie plans on continuing dancing. “The dream goal is to be a professional with a company, I don’t know where I would be, but I would also want to go back to school and then be a physical therapist for a company,” Annie said.

As for inspirations, Annie looks to many famous dancers she, but her role model is a girl named Caitlin at Charlottesville Ballet. “She’s a really hard worker and she’s really naturally talented but she doesn’t have the natural body for ballet. I want to be like her because I feel like I don’t have everything but I can still work hard and achieve success,” Annie said.

Although Annie loves ballet, she has frustrations too. Most professional dancers are in the 5’2” to 5’7” range, so at 6’1”, Annie’s height serves as a hindrance. “I hate that I wasn’t born with the body type for ballet. I don’t have archy feet, and I don’t have a flexible spine compared to other people” Annie said. However, Annie’s hard work and dedication overpower any physical barriers. “A lot of people live for the performance, but I love classes, I love working hard, I’m kind of a perfectionist. At the same time I do love being onstage,” Annie said. And if Annie has anything to do with it, we’ll be seeing her on stages for years to come.