Photograph courtesy of Visual Arts Masters
Makensie Howe, a senior at Fox High School in Arnold, is everything we expect teens not to be: serious-minded, self-directed, always thinking of the bigger picture. Those qualities, in addition to her talents as a dancer, are what scored her a third scholarship to American Ballet Theatre’s Summer Intensive program in New York. Nearly 4,000 young dancers auditioned; only 260 made it in. She spoke to us in July as she was midway through the program, talking about what drives her as a dancer and where she’d like to land after graduation. Mark her down under “one to watch.”
When did you start your training? I started at the age of 3 at the Dance Project, which is now known as Dance Project Saint Louis. There’s no really exciting story… My mom just asked me if I wanted to take dance lessons, and I said yes. [Laughs.] At age 13, I decided I wanted to focus more on ballet, so I did some research…and I decided that Alexandra Ballet was the place for me.
I know Alexandra [Zaharias, founder of Alexandra School of Ballet] studied in New York with George Balanchine; does the school stick with the Balanchine method? Actually, we learn a lot of everything. From Balanchine to Vaganova [a Russian technique, developed by Agrippina Vaganova] to Bournonville [an obscure training method practiced primarily in Denmark, named for August Bournonville], there’s a wide range of dance techniques that we learn.
Tell us a little about American Ballet Theatre, and how you got there. Four years ago, I went to the ABT program in Tuscaloosa, Ala. From there, I got a National Training Scholarship, which means you go on to the New York program. This is the beginning of the third week, so we have three more weeks. Every day, at the end of the day we have rehearsals for the performance at the end of the program. My level, we’re doing “Kingdom of the Shades” from La Bayadère. Then we’re also doing a more contemporary piece.
So what’s the routine? Some days, you have either Pilates or yoga. Then you have a ballet class, but again, it depends on the day—we either have a pointe class, or a pas de deux class. Then you have lunch, then you either have a rehearsal for the rep piece or the choreography piece. Or you have a jazz, modern, or musical-theater class. It can range from everything; you can even get lectures.
I know a lot of contemporary ballet choreographers tend to embrace more avant-garde choreography. Do you have a preference between contemporary and classic ballets? I like both; if I had to choose, I’d probably choose classical. My dream is to dance Juliet in Romeo and Juliet.
You’re right on the verge of graduating—any notion of where you might land? My goal, of course, is to become a professional dancer… My top three places to land would probably be American Ballet Theatre, the Houston Ballet, or the Pennsylvania Ballet. They all have a very nice repertoire that I’d love to dance. They seem welcoming, and the dancers are very nice. And their performances are lovely to watch. For me, it’s just fun. It’s wonderful to be able to drop everything and go into a dance studio and be free. That’s what dance really is.
See Makensie Howe and other students of Alexandra Ballet perform at Dancing in the Street September 25. The festival, which opens Grand Center’s fall arts season, takes place on Grand Boulevard between Lindell and Delmar boulevards and runs from 1 to 9 p.m.; a full schedule is at grandcenter.org. For more information on Alexandra Ballet, go to alexandraballet.com.
