Maya Alexander: A Dancer for Life

Anyone that knows Maya Alexander knows that she is a dancer. When Maya was only three-years-old, her mom signed her up for ballet and tap at her preschool. She really thrived in those classes, which led her to begin dancing at Atlanta Ballet at only four-years-old. Maya's mom had been a dancer for her career and encouraged Maya to dance as well. At Atlanta Ballet, Maya danced ballet, tap, modern, as well as contemporary classes. When she was only eight, she auditioned for Fox’s Nutcracker and got to be a “party child” in the show. She said she remembered how fun it was to be able to dress up in the costumes, makeup, and hair. Her first Nutcracker performance was followed by three others, all while still dancing and performing in shows at Atlanta Ballet. Some of her favorites out of her many performances include Snow White and Pinocchio. All of these shows and Nutcracker were performed while she was still under the age of twelve.

When Maya was twelve years old, she had a dance teacher at Atlanta Ballet who helped her really focus on dance, and in that year, she improved dramatically. However, that favorite teacher left soon after to start her own studio. Maya was really upset because that teacher had taught her so much and they became very close. Lots of Maya's friends followed that teacher to her new studio, but Maya's mom, who also studied at Atlanta Ballet, did not want her to leave the studio halfway through the year.

The following summer, her favorite teacher held a summer intensive. Maya signed up and did more than fifty hours of dance each week, with lots of improvement. After her mom saw how much she had improved, she let her switch to this new studio. Maya has been dancing there ever since and continues to train for over twenty hours a week. She takes mostly ballet and contemporary classes but also takes pointe class, flexibility class, and strength training. This summer Maya was planning to go to Boston Ballet’s prestigious audition-only summer dance program. However, with the pandemic, she does not know if she will still be able to attend. During this crazy time, Maya is still doing three hours of online dance and conditioning classes every day to keep herself in shape. She is really grateful that she kept dancing throughout her life and now has phenomenal talent and an identity shaped by her passion.