By Deardra Shuler
One’s
choices in life can be a testament to one’s mettle. How one faces personal setbacks and
challenges is always an individual decision and evidence of their will to
authenticate their true nature. Ailey II
dancer, Paige Fraser, has met every challenge with the attitude of a
champion. At age 4, Paige had not
determined what she wanted to become in life.
She only knew she enjoyed swimming and ice skating, so when her Caribbean born parents enrolled her in dance class, it
was just another fun thing to do.
A
first generation American, Ms. Fraser recognized by the time she was 12 years
old, that dancing had stolen her heart. It
was just about then, while undergoing a physical examination, the doctors
pronounced she had scoliosis, a curvature of the spin. They suggested the disease might put a damper
on her dancing. They advised an
operation. Since an operation could not promise a cure, Paige’s parents opted
for more natural remedies to help balance the spin such as yoga and more
dancing. To date, Paige has never had an
operation, and is still dancing, doing what she must to keep her spin stabilized.
“I am using Gyrotonics, therapy, yoga,
massage, and chiropractors. And so far,
I have proven the doctors wrong. It’s
just being sensible and knowing what I can and can not do. As a dancer, I must be aware of what I eat
and how I respect my body. Amazingly,
few people even notice I have scoliosis,” said the young ballerina proudly. It was also challenging initially for Paige
to find ballet schools with a diverse racial mix.
Dancing
requires a great deal of training, discipline and hard work since Paige practices
all forms of dance from ballet, African, modern, jazz, etc. In pursuit of her craft, Paige attended a
professional performance high school and later studied at Dominican
College in California, taking advantage of a BSA
program in conjunction with Alonzo King Lines dance methods, training with some
of his dancers. Transferring to New York, she also
trained in summer programs at American Ballet Theatre, Dance Theatre of Harlem,
Jacob’s Pillow, Juilliard, and Complexions and has worked with Desmond
Richardson, Darrell Grand Moultrie, and Camille A. Brown. Enrolled at Fordham University,
she is part of their BSA Program in conjunction with Alvin Ailey. “The BSA program gives a BA in Fine Arts,
which is a set core curriculum that allows a student to enjoy an academic
program while pursuing an interest in dance at a dance theatre such as Alvin
Ailey. So you can get the degree while
also dancing,” explained Paige who is presently experiencing her first year
with Ailey II, having been chosen among 12 selected dancers to dance with the
Ailey II troupe, out of 1500 competitors.
Presently
on a 35-city North American tour that included Texas, Alabama, Indiana,
Wisconsin, South and North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and LA, Ailey II, will
be returning to the Ailey Citigroup Theatre in NYC, where they will be
performing from April 18-29, for a highly anticipated 2 weeks. Sadly this will also be the farewell season for
Artistic Director, Sylvia Waters, who has lent her dance mastery to the Alvin
Ailey Dance Theatre for 38 years.
In
2010, Ms. Fraser performed in Alvin Ailey’s Memoria as a special
production of Revelations, in celebration of its 50th year
during the Company’s New York City
season.
“As
part of a 2-year program, I am grateful to be experiencing my first year with
Ailey II. I am lucky I’ve received
mentoring from Ms. Waters and was able to reap the benefit of her
knowledge. I will continue under Troy
Powell who will become the new Artistic Director. I hope that Sylvia Waters will continue to be
an asset to the Ailey organization. A
lot of the parts I now perform in Revelations, she performed, so I am grateful
for the notes and corrections she offers to me.
She is very good at bringing out the best in her dancers,” said Fraser.
“I
encourage people to never give up and just follow their dream. I have overcome many obstacles to get where I
am today and I am just at the beginning of my journey. But I have never given
up and I encourage others to never give up either.”
Ailey’s
NYC Performance will feature 3 new works and 3 repertory favorites, and 14
dance numbers such as Echoes, Boulevard, Reference Point, the Corner, Legacy of
Inheritance and Shards. For tickets:
call 866-811-4111 or online at www.AlvinAiley.org/AileyII
or www.ovationtix.com.
To purchase tickets in person, visit the Ailey
Citigroup Theatre Box Office, located at 405 W 55th Street starting
April 10th.
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