Walking onto the stage, Ambra Mele ’26 glances out at the hundreds of people gathered to watch the show, mentally steels herself, and begins to dance. Ever since Mele was young, she always felt an impulse to dance whenever she heard music in the background. It comes as no surprise then that starting at the age of five, Mele began taking classes at Princeton Ballet School, inspired by her love of dancing.
How has ballet affected your high school experience and worldview?
[Ballet has taught me] to continue even if there are obstacles, just continuing to go back to something that you enjoy and have devotion for. I feel like it’s so easy to lose sight of who you are as an individual. [Ballet] is something that … grounds [me]. I think that’s a value I will continue to take on through my life, that it’s important to find the little things that make you you. Dance helps me find my center. For example, after a school day where I thought “I did so bad on that test,” I can go dance and just find my center, because in dance, you always have to be on balance, you always have to be on your pointe shoes, and you have to balance there. And I feel like that just applies so much to life. Just the importance of finding a balance and everything with your friends, like your family, with your work, with whatever you’re doing, and just being able to enjoy that.
What are some challenges that you have faced?
I like to say that I have a love-hate relationship [with ballet], because when you do something for so long, there’s obviously so many struggles. I’m always tired, my feet will be bleeding. It’s a lot on your body, and sometimes you just don’t really want to go to rehearsal or do a class. Also, there’s a lot of toxicity within the ballet industry [because of] body image expectations and because a lot of my teachers are not always the nicest people. So there is toxicity in the atmosphere of the dance industry, and it’s like you’re being compared to everyone else. You’re being put on the spot and judged. [When this happens], I try to go back to why I started ballet. And I dance because I’m passionate about it, and I love to dance.
What are some of your favorite memories of ballet?
Two years ago I got to play Clara in The Nutcracker ballet … for a show for an elementary school. [The show was] mostly for kids that are underprivileged and in low-income areas that have never seen a live performance before. It’s probably 1000 kids that are in this theater … that were all screaming. But, I remember standing backstage before I went on, and it was like I was at a rock concert. I was nervous about it, but then I went on and it was just an amazing experience, because they were all so involved in the show. And I was thinking, “Wow, I’m actually impacting these kids. I bet there’s one kid in the audience who just fell in love with dance, just like how I used to fall in love with dance when I was little.” [I just loved] the fact that I could spread the power of art.
Who do you look up to while performing ballet?
[When I went to] Chautauqua Dance School, they brought in all these guest choreographers, people that I have looked up to since I was little, and it was just, one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. [One of the people they brought in] was Julie Kent. She’s this insane dancer at American Ballet Theatre (ABT). Isabella Boylston, too, she’s also with ABT, and she’s just so beautiful and amazing. Oh, and Patricia McBride. … She was the first female dancer that worked with New York City Ballet. She was this revolutionary ballet dancer years ago, and I was just thinking, “Wow, I can’t believe she’s teaching me right now and showing me choreography.”
Do you see ballet continuing to impact your life, even after high school?
I’m going to Boston College next year. And my hope … is to [be accepted] for the Harvard Ballet Company, which accepts students who don’t go to Harvard. Hopefully, I’ll get in and be able to be part of a ballet company that has like-minded people that value art. I think that once you do something for so long, it’s just always going to be a part of you. I bet I’m gonna be seventy years old, probably taking a dance class once a week or something, because it’s just who I am. Even though I’m probably not going to be doing ballet as much in college, or when I have a job or kids, it still has shaped my values, my personality, and how I see the world.