STEPHANIE HERMAN

I wasn't interested in ballet until the late age of 12. In my junior high gym class, I was picked to be in the ballet group, where I saw a girl put on toes shoes and do a pirouette. WOW!, I thought. I asked her where she learned to do that and she told me at George Balanchine's School of American Ballet. She also told me I needed to audition to get in. I quickly told my mother I wanted to audition, so she took me there. After the audition they said I was accepted. That was the start of my training for what was to become my lifetime career.

By the time I was ready for high school, I decided to audition for New York's High School of Performing Arts. My Aunt was a theatrical agent, and my mom suggested I ask her for help to get me into the school. But I said no, I wanted to know I was chosen for my talent and not for my Aunt's connections. So I asked my mom, who used to be a concert pianist, to record a Chopin piece so that I could choreograph a dance, required for the audition. When my brother drove me to the audition, I wore pink tights and kept my legs as straight as possible so as to not get wrinkles in my knees! This was so my leg line would look perfect. To my joy, I found out that I was accepted into the school. The discipline involved with the two schools was huge. I used to come home dazed and not hungry because my stomach was so used to being held in for dancing. It used to take me an hour to unwind enough to feel hungry; then I would eat, do homework - and still save time to call my friends and watch my favorite TV show.

By the time I was 19, I was 5'9" tall, and all my friends from school were being chosen for the New York City Ballet, the ballet company which was affiliated with my school. I was not chosen because the director, George Balanchine, wanted only shorter dancers. I felt so bad. So I auditioned for all the other ballet companies in New York, but it was always the same story. They would say that I was a lovely dancer - but they didn't have a male partner tall enough to dance with me; or they already had their quota of tall dancers for the year.

So I continued taking ballet classes, graduated from high school with honors and awards, then went on to one year at college. Towards the middle of the year, three ballet directors came to watch my ballet class; at the end of class, the school's director called me into her office. When I went in, she told me that the directors watching class were from The Australian Ballet Company, The Geneva Ballet and The Pennsylvania Ballet. And they all wanted me to join their companies. I was ecstactic. I chose the Geneva Ballet Company since George Balanchine was Co-Artistic Director and I wanted to continue to work with him.

The next three years were a challenge. It was the first time I was away from home; everyone spoke French; I had to learn to deal with competition; and I had to adjust to a totally different diet. But I coped and soon started to enjoy Europe and the new friends I made. And to top it off, I became a soloist after just one year. After three years I was about to quit (because I felt we were not performing enough) when I fell in rehearsal and tore my knee ligaments. I was sent home to N.Y. to recuperate, which was when I discovered the Joseph Pilates technique for rehabilitation. By the time I got better, I felt stronger than when I was dancing professionalIy, so I decided to audition for the New York companies again. But it was still the same old story: I was too tall. What then? I cut my hair and started working with Alvin Ailey modern/jazz dance workshops, a very famous dance company. It was an exciting time working with such a great artist who understood and expressed the freedom of movement and soul in dance. After one year, I asked to join the company - but again it was the same: no tall dancers. You can imagine how frustrating this was for me. So I decided to take two years off to go back to college and also take courses in acting, voice and jazz. After three years, I heard that a new director took over the Geneva Ballet, so I auditioned and was immediately accepted as a Principal (Prima) Ballerina. It was an excellent career move. The company and dancers were wonderful; we toured with stars from all over the world; and Balanchine would often come to work with us. And it was there that I got to work with Baryishnikov and Nureyev. After three years the company moved to Zurich, Switzerland, where I learned German. I then spent five exciting years with the company before deciding to move on.

I went back to New York to audition for the New York ballet companies again, thinking that maybe now that I was a Prima Ballerina it might be easier, - and to be closer to my family and boyfriend. But I still found that my height was an obstacle. That's when I started to get involved in the fitness field. After about a year, however, I found myself with a back and knee injury that doctors could not solve. I could not sit or walk more that 3 blocks, and found this frustrating and financially debilitating.

I spent the next three years researching ways to cure my injuries, and finally through physical therapy I got my dancers body back. From my experience and training in both dance and Pilates, I decided to develop a therapeutically designed fitness program involving dance that would elongate, isolate and strengthen muscles - and posture, plus have the joy of dance. And I wanted it to still be fun and comprehensive to non dancers. I had a lot of success in New York with my new approach, worked with wonderful people and was featured in many top magazines and on TV for my fitness approach, which was unlike any other out there. Because of my back injury, I created and patented a dance bag that is therapeutically designed to take the weight of the bag off of your shoulder and evenly distribute it on the hip bones. I am continuing to sell them through my 1 800-775-1580 company telephone number. I also now have an agent trying to get them on QVC shopping network on T.V.

What next? I then met a wonderful man (my soul mate) from California, who became my husband. (Five years later we are very happy, with a sweet house, and an adorable puppy.) So I am now in the Bay Area where I teach my unique fitness approach in health clubs, spas and privately. I also have eight videos out now.

My career has been wonderful and has taught me so much about life in unique ways. What helped me achieve my goals were my tenacity - and my inner belief in my dreams. I have also tried to always be realistic about my abilities to achieve my goals - and then worked hard to attain them. It is important to hold on to your dreams. But dreams don't always come true exactly as you want. And if that happens, then you need to be creative in figuring out how to maintain the most important elements of your dreams. I also encourage you to strengthen your own visions and belief by picking mentors as role models. But remember that it is very easy to let other people's values influence you. I find it's important to listen to what others have to say. But when you listen, try to figure out why they are saying it - where they are coming from. Then you can decide whether what they say is right for you or wrong for you - or maybe a bit of both. So you'll win, whether you like what they say or not, because it can help you move a little bit closer towards your dream - if you let it. Good luck! And reach for the stars! Hope to speak to you soon.

Archive of Virtual Take Our Daughters to Work Day chat on April 23, 1998.