When school bells rang in late August alerting California
area students to the first day of class, Allen Free wasn’t among their ranks.
The 14 year old California resident wasn’t playing hooky, however; he was at
home packing his bags, preparing to leave for the greatest adventure to date of
his young life. In early September, Allen
travelled to downtown Philadelphia where he’s currently enrolled in the Rock
School for Dance Education, the premiere school for young dancers aiming to
make ballet a career.
Allen spent the summer at the Rock School in their six-week summer
intensive before opting to enroll in their year round program. After
auditioning for the school’s directors, he was offered a merit scholarship to
help defray tuition expenses. In addition to studying dance for roughly five
hours a day, he is continuing his general education studies in the school’s
Rock Academics program. He lives near the campus in a townhouse style dormitory
with other young dancers, sharing space with roommates who came from as far
away as Japan to attend the prestigious training institution. He will remain at
the school for the entirety of the 2012-2013 academic year, returning to
California only on holidays.
Understandably, Allen’s mother, Carla Anderton says she
already misses him terribly. Still, she is quick to point out this opportunity
is the culmination of over a decade of hard work, determination and dreams.
“Allen started taking dance lessons when he was five years old
and basically never looked back. He knew then, just as he knows now, that his
life’s goal is to become a professional dancer. He has spent countless hours
learning and practicing his craft, and attending the year round program at the Rock
School is the next logical step in his artistic development,” Anderton said. “When
he graduates from high school, he’ll be able to write his own ticket, career wise,
not to mention he’ll likely qualify for a college scholarship so he can
continue his study of dance.”
Over the years, Allen has studied ballet at the Bolshoi
Ballet Academy, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Shirley Dean’s School of Ballet and
Modern Dance, Pennsylvania Southern Performing Arts Academy, the Mon Valley
Performing Arts Academy and the Fayette School of Ballet, among others. He has
appeared in about a dozen ballets, dancing in progressively advancing roles as
his skill level increased. He has also performed in a number of musicals including
repeat appearances on the stage in California University’s Steele Auditorium.
While Anderton explained Allen has reached this stage in his
development on the strength of his, well, toes, she gratefully acknowledges the
support he’s received over the course of his burgeoning career.
“I can’t say enough good things about Shirley Dean as a
teacher, nor can I thank Brianne Bayer Mitchell enough for generously donating
her time to give Allen private lessons and to otherwise support his efforts. Kelly
Jenkins of Fayette School of Ballet was instrumental in training and
encouraging him early on and, finally, Dr. Michele Pagen of the Mon Valley
Performing Arts Academy seemed to recognize Allen’s potential and cast him a
number of roles that I believe helped him grow as a dancer and as a performer,”
Anderton said.
It’s difficult to say what’s next for the young dancer but
if his past efforts are any indication, he’s headed in the direction of
greatness. In the meantime, his mother is busy counting down the days until
Thanksgiving break when she’ll get to see him again, if only for a few days.
