Reflections on our SKYPE interview with Jillian Vanstone - principal dancer @ The National Ballet of Canada

As part of our inquiry based passion projects, students were asked to connect to their learning through a passion.  A grade 4 and grade 5 student connected through dance and interviewed principal ballerina Jillian Vanstone of the National Ballet of Canada.

Here are their reflections:

Can a professanl dancer 's  lifestyle connect to our lifestyle?

I think it was an amazing experiance to meet Jillian and I had alot of support from my friends to skype her.

I learned that to be a professanl dancer you need to be very sterickt about your diet and your rest.

Her scoial life comes from her dance club. They are her community. I learned that you have to be very focued. I gess I have to check my treat eating a little more if I want to become a professal dancer.

MY INTERVIEW WITH JILLIAN

When Mrs. Martineau first told me I would be interviewing Jillian I was happy and excited.  I thought it was cool that I would be getting to talk to a professional dancer who grew up in Nanaimo and danced at the same  Dance Studio I go to  This past fall I wanted to audition for the National Ballet Summer School, part of me would like to go and have the experience Jillian has had,  if I am so lucky.  To have the opportunity to interview her was very special and personal to me.  Another part of me would be scared to go, I would be very sad to leave my family and friends. 

In the days leading up to the interview I was nervous and excited.  The interview went great, it didn’t go how I thought it would, for one thing I expected her hair would be downJ

After the interview I felt good, I was glad I had done it even though I was nervous.  I felt like I was given a gift by getting the chance to ask Jillian questions about something I hope to do one day.  Her answers gave me information about what it takes to be a professional dancer.  She also shared what it was like to move away at a young age and how you have to love it to make that kind of a sacrifice, that is something I am not sure of yet.

One thing that sticks out in my mind from the interview was when we spoke about her trip to Kenya and how when the people there are happy they break out into song and dance, and how that reminded her to dance for the love of it.  I dance because I love it and so that made sense to me.

Overall this experience gave me an idea of what it would be like at a professional ballet school, it gave me a sense of how much you have to love something to do it with that kind of commitment.