Interview with Ballerina Shelby Fair

"I spent my early childhood in the mountains of Granby, Co. My sister and I grew up on a ranch and I spent most of my time playing outside, fishing, hiking, and spending time with our horses. I did little dance, but I don’t really remember much of it. When I moved down to Pueblo, CO, I remember my mom wanting me to get involved in something so I could make friends. Pueblo had a nice Arts Center and I signed up for my first ballet class. I have now been dancing for 11 years and I am pursuing a BFA in Ballet and a Research in Dance Medicine and Science certificate.

My goal is to translate my love of God and the outdoors into physical movement. I use music, like hard medal and rock, to allow me to create movement based on feeling and sensation. The lyrics and sounds help guide me to create meaning behind my pieces. I specialize in ballet- which is difficult because I am not flexible. I do not have the “ballet body”, however, I am very artistic, and I know each ballet down to the finest detail of movement, costume, and form. I love ballet because it allows me to be unique- I can be delicate and fierce all at once. Doing ballet variations and corps de ballet (group or members of a ballet who dance together) work is what draws me to keep doing ballet

As a young artist I was consumed with my audience and making sure to greet them after the show so they could take pictures with my beautiful costumes. I always danced for the audience and not for myself, it was a pleasure to dance for anyone who was willing to watch. My mom was an advocate for the arts. She would buy tickets for children that would have never gotten the chance to experience the magic of ballet. My mom is a constant reminder that for the arts to exist, we must advocate for everyone to enjoy it, not just the privileged. My family will always be my biggest influence, reminding me to be myself and stay true to what I believe in.”

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https://shelbyrfair.wixsite.com/mysite