Rachel Lang

School days are only 2 periods for Rachel Lang, being in the Ballet West professional training program requires time, dedication, and a love for dancing, all which Rachel has.

Monday-Friday  ballet is half the day for Rachel, she goes to school for 2 periods, then drives to a train which leaves by 12:09, the train goes from Station Park, to Salt Lake City, she get’s off the train and onto another, off of that train she then has to walk two blocks to Ballet West. There’s little to no time for a break before technique class at 1:30 to 3:30.

Rachel tells me about her technique class, “Turn out, point your feet!”

Something ballet dancers will always be told to do. From 3:10 to 4:15 either have pointe technique, variations, partnering, or repertoire, or sometimes we have conditioning. A break after the first two classes gives Rachel time for a quick snack before the second technique class. after her long day of dancing, Rachel get’s home around 7 pm. Saturday’s schedule is a little different beginning at 10:30-4:00 pm, classes and rehearsals consume her day. Her Journey to Ballet West started when she took 3rd place in the Youth American Grand Prix, on to regionals and then finals in New York.

“I got to go dance in New York, that was real fun and tight.”

Rachel talks about her experience as if it’s completely normal that she beet over 100 people in order to make it to finals. But this is a very big deal. It’s obvious what she wants to do in her future, and she is determined to get there. Over this last summer she got an email from a dance company in Colorado wanting her to come to their academy to be a part of the professional training company. At the same time Rachel had tried out for the professional training company at Ballet West. She made the decision to go to Ballet West with a scholarship that was well earned. With 6 days of ballet a week I wondered how fast she goes through pointe shoes,

“I go through about a pair a week, and even more when we have performances.” Rachel then got 3 bags filled to the top with pointe shoes, another reminder of how dedicated she is to this sport.

Ballet is a major thing in Rachel’s life but so are other things, her cat Tenerson is one of her other loves. “Isn’t he the cutest cat you’ve ever seen? You better say yes.”

I’ve known Rachel since preschool, we spent every moment we could with each other, even now when we get busy, we find time to spend time together. A few things you might not know about Rachel are that all of her fingers are double jointed, she is the only girl in her family as well as the youngest, and even though I never think it would happen, she’s taller than me. 5’4” to be exact. Rachels friends describe her as funny, honest, intelligent, and sassy. The most used word used when talking about Rachel is “talented” and there is no question why.