My Dance Story | October 2013

Peyton Manfre, age 13 Studio - Akhmedova Ballet Academy

I saw my older cousin dance in a local performance of The Nutcracker when I was about five and I thought – Hey, I want to do that! I was already taking classes at a local studio, but at age seven, I knew I wanted to take things further. When I was eleven, I was accepted to the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, DC on partial scholarship. While there, I worked really hard and was inspired by professional dancer Natalia Osipova. Little did I know that when I was twelve, I would meet my ballerina idol after an ABT performance of Le Corsaire at the Kennedy Center and it was amazing! During that same year, I auditioned for Ballet West’s production of The Nutcracker at the Kennedy Center and was chosen to be one of the party girls in the First Act, allowing me to meet several of the Ballet West dancers featured on the reality show, “Breaking Pointe.” It was an honor to work alongside these dancers and their director, Adam Sklute.

I am now currently taking lessons with an amazing former ballerina, Jacqueline Akhmedova, at Akhmedova Ballet Academy in Maryland. I am excited to see what my future holds and in the meantime, I will continue to work and dream hard and reach my goals! The rest of my ballet story has yet to be written!