Fergus resident Veronica Higgins is heading to Texas to train for professional ballet after receiving international accreditation.
Higgins, 19, started dancing at the Grand River Dance Academy when she was a child. Starting with tap, and moving on to ballet and modern dance, she was encouraged to pursue ballet professionally after dancing with the Hamilton Academy of Performing Arts.
Since that time, she has been dancing in Hamilton, Toronto, Michigan and Texas in ballets such as Coppelia, Nutcracker and Raymonda.
She’ll be heading back to Texas Ballet Theatre in Fort Worth on Aug. 20 to train in its professional division, a program to prepare her for a professional ballet career.
“I loved that you could express something, every emotion, and it was so beautiful,” she said of why she danced ballet.
“It just makes you feel beautiful when you dance and I really love that.”
Higgins will be working closely with Ben Stevenson, the school’s award winning artistic director. Stevenson hired the Lauren Anderson as a principal dancer in 1990. She was one of the first black female ballet dancers for a major American ballet company.
Anderson and Stevenson are role models for Higgins and she met them both during her summer program at the Texas Ballet Theatre.
“I loved taking (Anderson’s) class and she’s just a wonderful person and someone to look up to,” she said, adding she is excited to learn under Stevenson.
Higgins recently received a membership from CID-UNESCO, the International Council of Dance in partnership with United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, for classical ballet level 4.
“They bring everyone together to keep the culture of dance,” said Higgins.
To receive this certification, dancers have to be nominated by an established CID member as well as complete a certain number of hours in their discipline. Higgins was nominated by her dance teacher and mentor Amelia Wanderlingh.
“I felt very happy, it was an exciting moment for me,” she said.
Higgins said she is excited to be working with Texas Ballet Theatre over the next two years.
“It’s a lot of hard work and sacrifices, but once you step out on stage it’s all worth it and you see everything come together,” she said.
