A Story 50 years in the making…

Susan, at the age of 21, met Ballet Lubbock’s founder Suzanne Aker in a PE ballet class at Texas Tech University in 1969.

“I knew there was something so very special about her. Yes, she was a wonderful dance teacher, but it went way beyond that for me. Her mantra of ‘Never quit moving,’ became my mantra and I cannot count the times I have thought of this and repeated it to others.

Two years after that class experience, I found out she was teaching an adult class right around the corner from where I was living at that time. I started a class with her, and once again, she proved to be an inspiration and motivating force to ‘Always keep moving.’

When my daughter, Alexis, began with Ballet Lubbock and Suzanne Aker at age 5, I was not surprised to see Suzanne had hardly changed at all. The light and love were still there in her face and beautiful smile. My daughter fell under her spell as well and she loved her classes with Suzanne. Alexis learned the beauty and discipline of the dance, thanks to Suzanne.”

Alexis performed in The Nutcracker many times under the direction of Suzanne Aker. Her most vivid memories are of performing as a Polichinelle – one of the children who emerge from Mother Ginger.

Alexis now brings her daughter Sloan to Ballet Lubbock. Sloan is a Ballet Lubbock Student of the Year, and this year, fifty years after her grandmother first met Suzanne Aker, she will perform in The Nutcracker as, of course, a Polichinelle.

There is little we can say to express our gratitude for what you, our students and our parents, give to us every day. There is a change to witness in the boys and girls who learn to dance in our studios. We have front-row tickets to that metamorphosis- in skill, athleticism, confidence, grace… and while they change, we all change with them. They inspire us, they make us proud. They give us precious memories and hope for the future. And when we see you in the audiences, when we talk with you after class, when we come together after performances or in the community, we see the same change in you. We’re all on this journey together, and the journey is what drives Ballet Lubbock.

The story you watched above was written to imagine this journey, to show you how we see our students. We recognize their dreams and struggles, and we celebrate their victories. We give them opportunities to be beautiful, to be bold, to try and fail, and to try harder and succeed. We want them to dance with hearts that have been emboldened by passion, and bodies that have been shaped by trial. And they do. They start as one thing and leave us as something else, something better. In this story they begin as children, physically or metaphorically. They learn, and most importantly, they dream. In their dreams are heroes, perfect and beautiful. They grow toward that dream, and when they achieve it, we achieve ours as well.

The most rewarding fulfillment of our purpose is watching the change that occurs in our students… watching them become the heroes of their dreams.

Our gratitude for this can’t be expressed with words. We can only hope to impart the joys of this journey onto you, our own heroes.

Thank you-
The Ballet Lubbock Family