The audience in the ballet studio hushes as Caitlyn Wong (’25) steps onto the stage. As the music starts, it seems to take over her. She punctuates every note with emotion, twirling and treading across the stage. As if in a trance, the eyes of everyone in the room follow her through every movement. As the music begins to fade out, the audience erupts into applause. 

However, Caitlyn’s mastery of the art form did not come easily to her, and she felt as if she was behind the other dancers at her first studio. Instead of dwelling on this feeling, Caitlyn put in the time and hours she needed to match their ability. 

“When I was younger, I couldn’t even do a single turn properly,” Caitlyn said. “I remember my mom had to ask my ballet teacher for extra hours at the studio. We came in on days that she wasn’t even there so I could practice,” Caitlyn said. “Currently, I would say I’m one of the best dancers there. I’m not trying to brag, but I’m the principal ballerina at my studio.  That just comes from the fact that I put in a lot of work, especially when I was younger, to catch up to people.”

Avayna Glass (’25), one of Caitlyn’s close friends, reflected on Caitlyn’s strong work ethic. Avayna led Caitlyn in Student Directed Showcase (SDS), where Caitlyn played one of the leads in her show “A Small Wooden Horse.” Through rehearsing with her in addition to their relationship over the years, Avayna found that Caitlyn brought a strong effort to all aspects of her life. 

“If she slowed her pace of how much she worked on things, she would be immensely great, talented and already very impressive,” Avanya said. “But she gets to a point and then she’s like, ‘I can do more.’ She’s never been the type of person to say ‘I hit my goal. I’m done.’ It’s always been, ‘I hit my goal. Now, I’m going to do more and go farther than that.’ And it’s just impressive. She’s pushing herself infinitely. That takes such strong willpower and dedication.”

Due to her studio being about an hour away from her house, her ability to practice is limited compared to her peers. However, Caitlyn’s approach to ballet allowed her to still be competitive in the field without having as many hours. 

“I’ve definitely grown because of the amount of effort and practice I’ve put in,” Caitlyn said. “I do ballet competitively mainly, and I don’t have as many hours as a lot of these girls are putting in. You have to make up for it with effort and willpower.”

Caitlyn’s dedication goes beyond her academics and schoolwork and also extends to her friends. Hannah Streeper (’25), one of Caitlyn’s close friends, admires how Caitlyn always remains willing to help her friends out. 

“I appreciate how she’s always willing to be present for you,” Hannah said. “She’s very much the person who, if you need something from her, she will be there so fast,” Hannah said. “Even if it’s something super small and stupid, like walking somewhere, she will do that in an instant.”

As someone who danced when she was young, Caitlyn reflected on how ballet became a permanent feature of her life. She found a stronger sense of self-confidence through ballet, which allowed her to be more outgoing in all parts of her life. 

“It’s the one constant factor throughout my whole 17 years of living,” Caitlyn said. “It’s been the one thing that’s been stable. The people there I’ve known since I was 6 or 7. That connection through ballet has been so big, and it’s taught me to be more open in front of other people, especially with people that I don’t know.

Michael Pistacchi, Caitlyn’s advisor and biology teacher, noticed Caitlyn’s growth into a more confident person. When he first met Caitlyn, he felt she was a quiet kid who mostly kept to herself, but later began to feel more comfortable pushing herself outside of the classroom. 

“I’ve seen her take on more and more every year, leading up to Student Directed Showcase (SDS) as a senior,” Pistacchi said. “She’s one of the students who’s going to hit the ground running in college because she’s come into herself in some great ways.”

Caitlyn developed her unique style of ballet that mostly focused on storytelling, as she focuses on the circumstances portrayed in her variations. She reflected on how she gets into the minds of the characters she is playing. 

“A big part of doing ballet is being able to convey a story without using your words,” Caitlyn said. “I like to think of the story that’s going on when I dance ballet, but also lyrical and contemporary. During contemporary dances, especially, you have to put your whole body into a feeling or a thought.”

Ballet does not serve as the only way that Caitlyn explores her creative side. She also enjoys writing, but she finds the way she expresses herself through the two art forms to be very different. While Caitlyn can create a completely new world through writing, most of the variations she performs were created many years ago, but she still brings her unique flair to her performances. 

“With writing, you can write about anything. With ballet, it’s as if somebody gave you a blueprint, and you got to build it. You can add your own design and furnishing to it, but you have to have the same structure.”

Upon her graduation from high school, Caitlyn will soon have to leave the studio she has been at since she was a kid but still aspires to continue ballet.

“I truly cannot imagine never doing ballet again after I graduate,” Caitlyn said. “I’d at least want to take some classes, but if I could perform, that would be great. I really want to do a full-length show because my studio is really small and we don’t have any boys, so we’ve never done a whole ballet before. If you’re a ballerina, you’ve performed in the Nutcracker, but I’ve never performed in it.”