Lenai Wilkerson belongs to USC’s Glorya Kaufman School of Dance first class of graduates, come this May. She was seven when she decided to pursue a professional life in ballet and other dance forms.
“Dance sort of consumed me in a positive way,” the now 21-year old recalls, “That was all I wanted.”
Wilkerson says that being set on a career so early forced her to grow up. She drove from her home in Washington D.C. to no fewer than three states — Baltimore, Virginia, and Maryland — in order to secure on a daily basis the best dance training possible. And she made many social sacrifices.
She recalls joining her friends at the roller skating rink, but never being able to skate alongside them: “I just remember thinking, if I get hurt, then this is the end for me.”
Recently, Wilkerson auditioned for Steven Spielberg’s upcoming re-make of the film, West Side Story, which will no doubt steer away from the well-known Jerome Robbins choreography because Spielberg hired New York City Ballet’s former dancer, Justin Peck, to be its choreographer.
Courtesy: Peter Hinsdale, @chippercentral
Wilkerson points out the importance of having a tough skin and not taking rejection personally. Especially, she says, because casting directors are looking for dancers with specific “looks” and body types.
“[George] Balanchine said that the American ballerina should have a small head and a long body, hyperextended legs, feet that are sort of shaped like a banana. I don’t have any of that. I’m 5-3. I’m short. I’m built like a track player,” she says, mentioning Balanchine who co-founded NY City Ballet.
“I defy all those odds of ballet, of what a ballerina should look like,” she added. “And I think that’s amazing.”
“It’s about time that we have a ballerina who looks like a track player. Or a ballerina who doesn’t look like the traditional look — and that’s sort of what I’m striving for.”
In this sound portrait, Wilkerson describes rehearsing for On the Double, choreographed by Jodie Gates, USC Kaufman’s vice dean and director.
USC Kaufman’s Fall Dance Performances are November 14th through 18th. Additional information is available here.