Los Gatos resident Adelyn Lau is an 11-year-old student at Rolling Hills Middle School who’s looking forward to performing on the biggest stage of her life to date.
She’s been working on her dance skills for several years, and now, she’s about to take part in the upcoming New Ballet production of “The San Jose Nutcracker.”
“I feel really excited,” she says, reflecting on her role as a Party Girl in the South Bay edition of the Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky classic. “We have a lot of acting, and we do have some dancing.”
New Ballet, downtown San Jose’s professional dance company, has teamed up with Symphony San Jose this season. “The San Jose Nutcracker” is set to run Dec. 14-23.
But before Lau pursued the path of a ballerina, she was trying out a variety of different dance steps.
She started at Jun Lu Performing Arts Academy, following in the footsteps of her older sister.
Lau still remembers the first day.
“I was, like, really nervous,” she says. “But it wasn’t the worst.”
‘It’s really my thing that I like doing. It makes me really happy.’
—Adelyn Lau
Even though she started out doing “happy little dances” for little kids, it wasn’t long before her serious motivation began to shine through.
“I just wanted to be the best,” she says. “I worked my way up, because I improved.”
Her dad, Eric, who works in finance for a Japanese semiconductor company, recalls how his younger daughter really took to dance.
“She really tried hard,” he remembers. “I think she’s pretty good at getting along with other kids, as well.”
That became important as his daughter started going to competitions.
“Sometimes it’s quite stressful,” he says, recalling how the dance students continued to level up. “You can see the progress…It’s quite amazing.”
Ballet was introduced as a way to help the students hone their technique in other styles.
“It’s more difficult,” he says. “She like the challenge of that.”
Lau’s schedule had become rather packed. But it suited her well.
“I loved being on stage performing,” she says. “I think it’s really my thing that I like doing. It makes me really happy.”
She says it’s like hanging out with a big group of friends who are all driven to succeed.
“We want to be the best,” she explains. “But we’re all there to support each other.”
After attending a New Ballet summer camp, Lau decided to make the switch.
“After Summer Intensive, my mom and I, we were discussing this whole thing, and I was like, I want to try New Ballet,” she says. “My mom was like, ‘OK, we can try.’”
Lau has progressed to Level 3B, where she’ll practice technique for a while, get a 10-minute break, and then head to pointe class.
But what is it about ballet specifically that Lau is attracted to?
“It’s, like, really soothing for me,” she says. “I can’t really describe how I like it. I just love it a lot.”
Does she see it more as a sport or an art form?
Both, she replies.
Sometimes, for example, they’ll move in a slow and deliberate manner that’s clearly a form of artistry, she explains, but adds, she’s also been taught that up-and-coming ballerinas need to take care of their bodies.
“We have to be like athletes,” she says.
She can’t wait for the upcoming Nutcracker performance.
“In Act 1 where Clara gets her nutcracker, we’re all there,” she says. “Us party children, we’re separated into families. Me and my friends are in one family.”
She’s been studying the soundtrack, so she won’t miss her cue.
“I need to really listen to the music to know when to do what,” she says. “When I’m doing homework, I always listen to ballet music.”
Meanwhile, she’s also preparing for her first meet of the year—the Youth International Ballet Competition, known as ABD IBC.
“I’m a soloist at New Ballet, which means when I perform, I’m the only one that’s on the stage,” she says. “I’ve been working on a ballet variation and contemporary piece.”
Lau says she even wants to teach ballet one day.
“It’s a hard job to do,” she says, adding she’d like to teach part-time, even if, like her sister, she starts to pursue other activities as she gets older. “I don’t want to stop ballet completely.”
New Ballet’s The San Jose Nutcracker runs from Dec. 14-23 at California Theatre, 345 S. 1st Street, San Jose. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit newballet.com/nutcracker.
