00:00It's just another day of dancing for Charlotte Rose as she floats across the floor of the
00:20Dubai Dance Academy. At 14 years old, the young dancer is already a passionate and promising
00:24ballet student.
00:26I'm Charlotte Rose. I'm 14 years old. I started ballet when I was around four, but I wasn't
00:32very committed, and I only did it as like a hobby. And then I went into figure skating
00:39where I did competitions. And then after that, I went into hip hop, and we had to take ballet.
00:47So I took ballet, and then I came to Reiko to get even better, and now I've fallen in
00:52love with ballet.
00:56Charlotte has been studying at the Dubai Dance Academy for the past three years, and under
01:01the guidance of Reiko Chong, the Academy's director, the Dubai teen has been accepted
01:06to participate in the semifinals of the Young American Grand Prix, one of the world's most
01:10prestigious youth ballet competitions.
01:14She's going to Paris for the semifinals on the stage of Paris Opera School, where she
01:22wants to go one day.
01:24I'm flying to Paris, which is one of my favourite cities, and I'm going to dance on a stage
01:29with amazing, amazing dancers, and I'm going to compete with them. It's not about the prizes
01:36that I win, but it's the experience and being inspired from the other people.
01:44The event will take place at the end of October, and if Charlotte performs well in Paris, she
01:49will move on to the finals in New York. Preparing for such a prestigious dance competition is
01:53not easy, and Charlotte is dedicating as much time as she can to refining her skills.
01:58To have the right technique, you must go at least four times a week to classes to build
02:04that technique and have muscle memory. I've started to be very committed this year with
02:09more than four classes a week, and rehearsals all weekend.
02:14We are working almost like 15 hours per week, non-stop weekdays and weekends.
02:25The hours of dance training are demanding, and Charlotte has become accustomed to enduring
02:29physical pain as she strives to better her technique.
02:33The ballet is physically the hardest sport, but we cannot show the pain or, you know,
02:41we have to hide behind us and keep smiling.
02:45Of course, with pointe shoes, you go through a lot of pain with, like, ingrown toenails.
02:51I have all of those and blisters. Those hurt a lot.
02:54If you don't take care of yourself and if you don't work smart, then you could injure
03:01yourself, so you have to be literally on your toes.
03:05She practices hours and hours, but good pain. Good pain, good gain.
03:13There is also a great deal of social sacrifice for Charlotte, as her busy dance schedule
03:18leaves little time to relax with friends.
03:20For ballet, it takes a lot of sacrifice, and you can't go to, like, the parties or the
03:25sleepovers with your friends. It's just ballet, commitment, but it's worth it.
03:33According to Charlotte, her sacrifices are not in vain.
03:36The young dancer says that she gains a sense of peace and achievement from her practice.
03:41I love ballet because every day there's something new to learn. You're never perfect.
03:46There's always a journey to strive for this perfection.
03:50It's kind of tranquil and, like, relaxing.
03:54And, of course, I'm, like, working hard and sweating, which is not very relaxing,
03:59but it's relaxing in some sort of level through hard work.
04:02You see that you've progressed over time, you see it, and those, like, small hints of
04:07progress is very rewarding.
04:11While Charlotte is working hard to impress the judges at her upcoming performance in
04:15Paris, she has a dancing dream that goes beyond a single competition.
04:19I would love to be a ballerina. My dream would be Paris Opera.
04:23Charlotte will be competing in the Young American Grand Prix Semifinals in Paris on
04:27October 29th and hopes to return to Dubai with a place in the New York Finals in 2016.
