Ballerinas, bands, bars, Optimus Prime and more.
Ballerina returns home to perform at All Stars of Dance Gala
Sasha De Sola laughs when she considers how deep her love of dance runs. “I actually started at two-and-a-half — which is ridiculous,” says De Sola, who was born in Winter Park Hospital and grew up in Winter Springs.
By the time she was 6, she was dancing more seriously. At 10, she persuaded her parents to let her attend Orlando Ballet School.
Today, at 27, she is a principal dancer for the San Francisco Ballet. And this weekend she will be coming home to perform at the World Ballet Competition’s All Stars of Dance Gala. “I’m really looking forward to it,” says De Sola. Open to the public, Saturday’s gala is the star-studded culmination of the weeklong competition, which draws top dancers from more than 20 countries. This year, the 11th installment features more than 200 competitors. During the past decade, dancers have won more than $1.5 million in
“I had basically no free time, but I wouldn’t have traded it for the world.” Sasha De Sola, on her time at Central Florida Ballet
scholarships, prizes and jobs, according to founder Vasile Petrutiu.
De Sola studied with Petrutiu and Heather Sanders at Orlando’s Central Florida Ballet after her time at Orlando Ballet School.
Central Florida Ballet’s studio was her second home.
“In order to make it to a higher level, you need to be doing four hours a day, six days a week,” De Sola says. “I had basically no free time, but I wouldn’t have traded it for the world. I was so happy to be dancing so much and pursuing my dreams.”
Petrutiu remembers how intently she trained.
“She was one of those very quiet girls, just working like crazy,” he says. “Focused? Wow!”
He recalls her focus made her less social than the other girls her age.
“Her mom had to threaten to take her out of ballet if she didn’t start talking,” he says with a laugh.
De Sola started talking. But she didn’t stop dancing.
In her teen years, she asked her parents if she could attend the Kirov Academy of Ballet, a boarding school and dance program in Washington, D.C. They gave their blessing, though De Sola says they still didn’t quite believe pirouettes and pointe shoes would give their daughter a career.
“Neither of them expected I would become a professional ballet dancer,” she says. “My dad thought I would come home from the school in a few months.”
But she didn’t come home.
“I’m strong-willed!” De Sola laughs.
Not that there weren’t ups and downs.
“It was a little nerveracking” to be away from home at that young age, De Sola says. “I went through phases of being homesick and phases of being fine. But I was enjoying the ballet aspect of it so much that I really wanted to stick it out.”
In 2006, at age 17, she was asked by San Francisco Ballet artistic director Helgi Tomasson to check out his company. She worked with the troupe a few days — and they offered her a permanent position.
“I called my parents, we talked it over … I was a little bit in shock,” she says. “I wasn’t expecting it.”
By this point, Mom and Dad could see dancing was their daughter’s dream. She moved to San Francisco and finished her high-school studies online.
“I still can’t believe it happened,” she said.
It wasn’t easy being the new kid.
“Everybody there already knew each other, they were familiar with how San Francisco Ballet works and in comes this random new girl,” De Sola recalls. “All I wanted to do was fit in.”
But within a year or two, she was being offered smaller featured roles. In 2012, she was made a soloist. Then, disaster.
In 2015, she heard her foot go “pop!” The injury, to a ligament, kept her from dancing for nearly a year.
“It was the hardest time of my life,” she says. “But eventually I discovered other things that I love. I started painting a lot. I spent a lot of time with my dog,” a 5-pound Chihuahau mix named Tilly.
Her drive helped her recover, return to the stage — and this past December, De Sola was promoted to the company’s top rank of principal dancer.
“To be a principal dancer of that company is to be somebody,” Petrutiu says. “We’re very proud of her. She has definitely earned her spot.”
In Orlando, she will dance the “Black Swan” pas de deux from “Swan Lake.” Her partner will be Max Cauthorn, a soloist with San Francisco Ballet and her boyfriend.
“I find his technique to be very pure and clear, very classical,” she says. “It makes him special.”
The spark that drove her to dance as a child in Central Florida continues to burn brightly.
“When I was a kid, I was very, very shy,” she says. “For me, there was a freedom in dance. I felt like my true self in unabashedly sharing my love of dance with other people. … I still feel that way.”