Dancer tiptoes into ballet role

A pile of pink pointe shoes lie on the floor next to Jaime Lynn Witts as she stretches in preparation for a rehearsal.

In a black and green leotard, a white tutu and soft pink tights, she and fellow company member Christopher Swaim effortlessly glide across a studio floor to Tchaikovsky’s celebrated “Snow Pas De Deux.”

Witts, who has been a member of the Ballet Austin company for the past six seasons, will be dancing the role of the Snow Queen in the company’s production of “The Nutcracker” this Christmas.

“This is my third year to dance as the Snow Queen,” Witts said. “It’s fun though, it’s really challenging and I like it.”

Witts and her fellow Ballet Austin performers are used to challenges by now, attending daily morning warm-up classes that begin with exercises at the barre and move on to floor work. Dancers, sporting classic chignons, are dressed in an assortment of tights, leotards and workout wear as they take instruction on improving posture and movement.

“At the company level, it’s really about refining the smaller points of your technique,” Witts explained.

After a difficult class, the group splits up — first taking a break to rebandage blistered toes with the help of sports tape, then pairing off to use the rest of the day rehearsing for upcoming roles. Witts spends half of her time rehearsing and half teaching classes for the ballet’s academy.

“Teaching, for me, definitely provides a different perspective on things,” she said. “I just kind of got thrown into it, but I really enjoy it, especially the younger students. Teaching them how to do something for the very first time is really interesting.”

The academy classes, housed in Ballet Austin’s rehearsal space downtown, offer programs for aspiring students ages three and up. Ballet Austin’s Butler Community School also hosts a wide variety of dance and fitness courses throughout the year including pilates, yoga, tap and conditioning. The classes are open to anyone interested, regardless of previous dance experience.

Originally from Bucks County, Penn., Witts moved to Austin when she was 18 to attend a summer program for Ballet Austin trainees. She said that she has adapted well to the city and the company, praising her fellow members and instructors.

“That’s probably one of the best things about this company, it’s a really supportive environment,” she said. “Though we’re a small company, one of the reasons we have the ability to do something like ‘Swan Lake’ is because everyone is very structured and goal-oriented.”

Company manager Eugene Alvarez said Witts’ progress during her time with the company has been exciting to follow.

“Jaime has been in the company for a while now and she’s been great to work with,” he said. “Her artistic growth has been great to watch.”

Witts said that she especially likes performing with Ballet Austin because it provides her the opportunity to experience both classical and contemporary works.

“I like doing more contemporary things and especially new work,” she said. “I like the creative process a lot.”

One of her favorite performances was “Light/The Holocaust & Humanity Project,” choreographed by the company’s artistic director Stephen Mills.

“Everyone went through a lot of education, it was a really in-depth process,” Witts explained. “It was something really meaningful.”

The company performs five main productions throughout the season, and in March they will begin working with finalists from the New American Talent dance competition. The competition, created by Mills, allows all major professional dance publications and choreographers to submit work in hopes of reaching one of three finalist positions. The finalists then come and work with the company members for two weeks to teach them the pieces. After the company performances, audiences will vote for the competition’s winning choreographer.

“One of Mr. Mills’ major goals for Ballet Austin is to integrate choreographic interests,” Alvarez said.

Between rehearsing and teaching, Witts seldom has much free time outside of the studio, but said she uses weekends to relax, run errands and spend time with her fiance, company member Frank Shott. Still, Witts doesn’t seem to mind the grueling schedule. Instead, she says that pushing herself in preparation for a performance is what she finds most rewarding.

“That’s what I love most about this job, performing.”

Be the first to comment on this article!

Add comment


I am not posting spam. I understand posting spam or other comments that are unrelated to this article will cause my comment to be flagged for deletion and possibly cause my IP address to be permanently banned from this server.

Enter the characters in the image above:

log out