On musicals, Gene Kelly and Swan Lake...

My parents have always loved watching old musicals. Even at our family Christmas party, my parents, still to this day, get up and sing a song from Showboat together during the talent portion of the evening. Yes, you heard me right, a talent show in the middle of Christmas Eve dinner with 50 relatives watching. So I was constantly surrounded by musicals that I haven’t even seen. I will never forget the day that my parents and I watched An American in Paris with Gene Kelly. I was about 7 years old and in complete awe. I couldn’t believe how he moved his body, his agility, his strength, and of course that face. You fell in love with that smile!! After that night, we rented Brigadoon and of course Singing in the Rain. From then on I was hooked. I knew I wanted to do what Gene did, maybe not in a movie, but to perform. And I knew I had that ability after I had done a few plays at school. I wanted to move like him and touch people in the way his performances touched me.

A few years later, I had been taking tap, jazz and ballet lessons. My mom saw that American Ballet Theater was performing Swan Lake in downtown Chicago. We didn’t have tickets, but she thought we would make the drive downtown and take a chance. Sure enough someone who had 5th row seats turned them in at the last minute. My mother bought them and I am so glad she did. That show changed my life.

I remember watching, not even blinking, at how a woman could transform into a Swan. She moved her arms with such fluidity, as if she had wings. It was the most magical and beautiful thing I had ever seen. From that moment, at 12 years old, I made the decision to do everything I could to dance. I didn't know if I could eventually become a professional dancer, but I knew I had to try. I knew I had something inside of me that I had to share. Now, I have made a life and career at Ballet Memphis for the past eight years! So, thank you, Mom and Dad, for taking chances with me, for exposing me to art, for always supporting me and sharing a love for dance.

—Julie Marie Niekrasz Strampe, dancer