Surrounded by toe pads, spacers and skirts, professional dancer Naomi Le loops the ribbon of her pointe shoes around her ankles with expert precision: once around, then across, then over the foot. For Le, now a Company Artist at the New Ballet Company, a premier ballet company located in San Jose, the ritual marks the years she spent relentlessly practicing to earn her place. 

Le’s introduction to ballet came as a medical recommendation rather than an artistic pursuit. When she was an infant, doctors noticed her difficulties with crawling and warned her mother of possible long-term mobility issues. Le’s mother began searching for ways to strengthen Le’s body, eventually enrolling her in a local ballet studio.

Gradually, what began as physical therapy grew into a sport that she truly enjoyed. Under the guidance of teachers at New Ballet, Le developed her technique through repeated practice and correction. 

“When I was younger, my expectation was very much that this was just a hobby,” Le said. “Me at 18 versus me now — you would not have thought that’s the same dancer. That’s my favorite part of it. It’s an art that you can grow in and mature in.”

As Le’s high school graduation neared, she faced a dilemma familiar to many young dancers: whether to keep training for a professional dance career or pursue higher education. Instead of limiting herself to one option, Le chose to take neurobiology classes at community college while continuing her intensive ballet training at the same time. Though her time quickly filled with both academic courses and rehearsals, Le managed her workload by compartmentalizing her schedule.

“Ballet is very demanding, so when you’re at school, you just don’t think about it,” Le said. “When you’re at ballet, you don’t think about school. It’s overloading, like you’re blending two different worlds and two different demands that are incredibly difficult to handle alone. Having that separation is important so that it doesn’t layer on top of that pressure of choosing ballet or school.”

After Le completed her associate’s degree in neurobiology, she encountered another difficult choice between continuing ballet professionally or finding a corporate job. While pursuing a traditional career path would bring a higher income and steadier lifestyle, she realized that her full capabilities as a dancer were temporary.

“Ballet is just such a short career for most of us,” Le said.”It’s not something you can put off until you’re 30. It’s something that you have to do now, or you can’t really get to where you want to be with it. Schools and institutions will always be there, but your body will only be like this for a few more years.”

Dalia Rawson, New Ballet’s Executive and Artistic Director, played a significant role in Le’s decision to choose a career in dance by constantly encouraging her and reassuring her of her capabilities throughout her career. Rawson helped Le develop her self-confidence and mental strength, which are skills that Le continues to build on even as a company dancer. 

“As a student, you get taken care of by your teacher,” Le said. “But as a professional, you have to take care of yourself in terms of your dancing and mental wellbeing. A lot of the work is to motivate myself to come to class every day even when I feel like I suck.”

Life as a ballet dancer also comes with strenuous, emotionally-taxing daily rehearsals. While it is easy for many to lose motivation during especially stressful times, Le chooses to shift her perspective on dancing to maintain a grateful attitude.

“Something that I tell myself quite a bit is, ‘I get to do this,’” Le said. “Don’t say you have to —say you get to. When I say ‘I have to do this,’ it makes class and rehearsals feel like a drag, especially when I’m sore or not feeling it. But when you think about it the other way around, you treat it like a privilege.”

Ballet also gave Le the opportunity to explore deeper connections with her family by being able to perform alongside them. Her father, who plays violin in Symphony San Jose, accompanies New Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker every year.

“When our ballet studio and his symphony come together, it’s so special because it brings almost every aspect of my life in one place,” Le said. “I can dance and my dad can play music together, and it’s like a tradition. The way my life set itself up, I just knew ballet was the right choice.”

Le has grown to understand that ballet represents not only personal fulfillment but also  aspirations many others share. She reflected that, unlike many, she had the opportunity to pursue a career in ballet long after other dancers quit.

“It’s a dream that I never thought I could have,” Le said. “I’ve had people telling me, I’ve always wanted to be a ballerina, but I stopped.’ I realized that could have been me too. So in a way, I’m living other people’s dreams, and I’m really lucky to be able to do this.”