Waiting in the Wings

Laughter abounds in the midst of San Jose Dance Theatre's summer adult intensive ballet class, taught by the company's artistic director, Mariana Zschoerper. As Zschoerper listens and adapts to students' concerns, it's clear the studio celebrates students' health and happiness as much as their technical precision.

Student and dancer of seven years Jeremy Pennet notes, "I find her teaching style very nice because she can explain the muscles that may be causing issues and show how specifically to do moves that you may be having trouble with."

Zschoerper herself is originally from Brazil, where she trained in ballet at the Bolshoi Theatre School for eight years, with around six hours of dance classes a day. 

“I have a very competitive personality,” Zschoerper says. “Before I was even sure I wanted to follow a professional pathway, I think I just didn’t want to give up. From a very early age, I was very competitive, and I had a lot of fun dancing. So, I’m not very perfectionist, but I am passionate for what I do.”

Much like Zschoerper, student and guest professional dancer Natalie Taylor has also discovered a love of ballet. But unlike how Zschoerper is not a perfectionist, Taylor says the challenge of achieving perfection is itself part of the charm of ballet.

Taylor says, "You know, there's a lot of discipline involved in ballet and it's a very strict art form—either it's right or it's wrong, there's no in-between—so I kind of fell in love with the difficulty and the challenge of trying to perfect my every movement, which I didn't realize before, but now, that's what I strive for."