Chase your Dreams

Among the dozen 15-year-old girls in Tatyana Galtseva's class at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy, one was different. She was Harper Ortlieb, an American from a small town in Oregon, USA. She travelled more than 5,300 miles, around 8,530 kilometres, to Moscow, Russia, to follow her dream of becoming a prima ballerina. The prestigious Bolshoi Academy opened in 1773. In 2016, it had 721 students. Only 84 of them were foreigners. Few students are accepted to the academy when they are as young as Harper was. And only few can take part in the regular Russian programme. "She is a very gifted girl, She is ballet, all inspiration" her teacher Galtseva said about Harper. "When children are talented, they are alike in some ways they approach things."

Indeed, Harper has worked hard. She started ballet classes when she was only 3 years old. When she turned 11, she went to the School of Oregon Ballet Theatre six days a week. 'Being 3 in a ballet class; it’s fun and games,' Harper said. “My teacher was wonderful, it was so much fun. And then once I got more professional, I realized how difficult it actually is.”

The Bolshoi saw Harper during a 2015 summer programme. She was only 14 years old when officials offered her a place in the Moscow academy. Harper knew her teachers would be tough. She also knew that it would be hard to be so far from home, but it has been harder than she expected.

"It's been very difficult, but with that comes strength and with that I improve" Harper said. “I feel like I came here to get better, to improve, not only technically but emotionally, and so when I dance people see something.”

If Harper wants to be one of those rare foreigners who receive a diploma from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy, she has three more difficult years ahead. When she first moved to Moscow, she was on her own. But now, she has her mother by her side. Harper's mother, Layne Baumann, made two trips to Moscow after she and Harper's father dropped Harper off in Russia in September 2015. In February 2016, Baumann decided to move to Moscow to be with her daughter. Baumann rented an apartment near the academy. Harper moved out of the dormitory and started to live with her mom.

At the end of each day, Harper and her mother talk about the school day. They also regularly use Skype to talk with Harper's father who stayed back in Oregon. In addition to her dance classes, Harper has Russian language lessons every day at the academy. For her other subjects, she takes online classes in the evenings and on weekends. On Sundays, Harper's only day off, she and her mother love to explore Moscow. They have already seen more performances at the Bolshoi Theatre than most Russians see in a lifetime.

Dancing is hard work for Harper. But she loves it. In a concert in early 2016, Harper was among the few girls from her class chosen to perform in two dances. “Preparing for a performance, it's all you think about. It kind of overtakes your mind,' she said. 'Preparing for exams, I'm always very nervous. There's a lot of stress. But with that stress, you know, comes happiness and you feel overjoyed when you're dancing, you forget about everything, you forget about the sacrifices you make, you forget about the pain, or the tears. “