For Wilbur-by-the-Sea teens, life is truly a ballet

WILBUR-BY-THE-SEA  — From an early age, Noah and Savannah Campbell fell in love with ballet.

It began with lessons when the two were toddlers. 

“When I was 3-years-old my dad took me and Savannah to ballet class and I really liked it,” said Noah. “I decided to keep taking classes.”

They kept taking classes and practicing — a lot. Now teens, both of them have already excelled, and then some. 

This September, 14-year-old Noah will attend the prestigious Royal Ballet school in London. Savannah, now 16, already has a contract with the highly regarded Sarasota Ballet.  

“I was really excited because I’ve always wanted to go there,” said Noah. “That’s like the top school there is. So I was really excited and happy.”

Savannah, meanwhile, is already a professional.

“This past year I was a trainee with the Sarasota Ballet,” said Savannah. “That’s like an unpaid internship. This past year I auditioned for the company director and he really liked me. At first they weren’t really sure if they wanted to hire me because I was so young. Typically they won’t hire anyone unless they’re 18. But he did hire me.”

Parents Brian and Lisa Campbell want their prodigies to pursue their dancing dreams as far as they can.

“They work so hard,” said Brian. “It’s always been a case of this is what they want to do. We’ve told them that they can do this for as long as they want.”

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Practice, practice, practice

Ballet began early at a local ballet studio for Savannah and Noah when their family lived in Morris, Illinois.

“When they were both potty-trained I said to my wife Lisa, ‘Do you mind if we take them to a ballet class just to see if they like it?’”, said Brian. “We took Savannah when she was 3-years-old and she loved going. When Noah turned 3-years-old he went and he enjoyed it.”

From there the family moved the kids to Salt Creek in Hinsdale, Illinois. 

“That’s where Noah was noticed by a Russian ballet master, who took Noah on as a private student at the age of 4,” said Brian. “This man had never taken on a private student so young. But he saw something in Noah. We fostered a very personal relationship with him.”

Brian said him and his family would often visit Florida because of the warm weather and beaches. 

“But each time we came to Florida we didn’t want them (Noah and Savannah) taking time off from ballet. We knew something was happening with both of them. So we drove into Orlando, to the Orlando Ballet school. The director at that time also saw something in them. Our decision to move to Florida full-time coincided with her kind of recruiting the kids to come to Orlando Ballet school.”

Brian said they spent two years at Orlando Ballet school until the director moved on to teach at the Sarasota Ballet school. Both Savannah and Noah eventually followed the director to Sarasota.

“We saw the director at a competition,” said Brian. “She said you guys really need to consider Sarasota Ballet. So we visited Sarasota and they both immediately fell in love with the school. They’ve been there ever since.”

Ballet requires extensive practice, and sacrifice.  

Both Noah and Savannah agree that ballet takes up most of their day.

“Our day is usually from 9:30 a.m. to around three or four,” said Noah. “We have a lunch break and then maybe 15 minutes here and there. Saturdays are a half day between 9:30 to noon or 1:00.”

Diet and exercise plays a part in their routine.

“We eat really healthy, like salads and lots of vegetables,” said Savannah. “I don’t eat a lot of junk food.”

Noah is a bit more lenient with his eating habits. 

“I can eat junk food,” said Noah. “I just have to exercise everyday. I’m also dancing six hours each day. So I’m burning it off.”

The hard work and sacrifice are worth it, said Savannah.

“I’ve been taking dance classes since I was three,” she said. “I’ve never really done anything else. I’m good at this, I really enjoy doing it and it’s fun. It’s probably the greatest career I could think of. I’m getting paid to perform in front of people, doing what I love.”

The sacrifice has been a family affair. 

“We maintain two households now,” said Brian. “This is our home (in Wilbur-by-the-sea) and we rent a house in Sarasota. During the week me and the kids are there (Sarasota) Monday through Saturday. And then we come home Saturday afternoon till Sunday night. My wife’s an ICU nurse at Advent Health. On her days off, she comes to visit us during the week.”

Brian and Lisa fully support their kids.

“They work so hard,” said Brian. “It’s always been a case of this is what they want to do. We’ve told them that they can do this for as long as they want.”

Chasing their dreams

The Royal Ballet School has produced internationally renowned dancers and choreographers including: Margot Fonteyn, Anya Linden, Kenneth MacMillan, Lynn Seymour, David Wall, Antoinette Sibley, Anthony Dowell and Marguerite Porter.

For Noah, the offer from the Royal Ballet came after judges saw Noah compete in the Youth America Grand Prix, the world’s largest ballet scholarship competition. He was among 5,000 competitors, and one of 400 to advance to the final rounds of competition. 

When the YAGP North America final rounds were moved from New York to Florida in May, Noah outperformed competitors from Canada and Mexico. He won first place in the junior age division for boys, and he was offered scholarships from schools in England, Monaco and Germany. He chose the Royal Ballet.

“He’ll actually be educated in the UK’s educational system,” said Brian. “He’ll be there for five years. He’ll be there until he’s 19. The way the program works is he’ll come out as a professional ballet dancer, but he will also come out with the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree. In the event he gets hurt he will have a degree to fall back on.”

The Royal Ballet school has offered Noah a $50,000 scholarship. The Campbell family has set up a Gofundme to help raise the necessary $20,000 needed to cover the other expenses for Noah to attend the school. So far they’ve raised $15,765. 

The expenses include airline tickets, passport and visa, laptop, guardianship, uniforms and clothing and other personal effects. 

Savannah, meanwhile, is already a profession. She  will receive $250 a week while working for the Sarasota Ballet. 

“It’s basically the first step to my professional career,” said Savannah. “From here I can work my way up the different levels within the company.”

 Savannah said if she could offer any advice to anyone interested in pursuing ballet it would be to keep at it.

“It’s so much fun if you can just get through the hard parts,” said Savannah. “It’s going to pay off. It’s especially hard for girls because you’re in a class with 10 to 18 other girls. There’s a stereotype of being super skinny. And you’re in front of a mirror all day. That in itself is really hard.”

Experiences differ between boys and girls.

“It’s easier for boys because there’s not as many of them,” said Savannah. “They’ll give a boy a job because they need more of them. You could have 100 girls competing for one spot. It’s highly competitive.”

Noah recalls being the only boy his first year at Sarasota Ballet.

“That first year I was 12 and then I turned 13 as the year ended,” said Noah. “I was with 18 girls. This year there were five boys, all 18 and over. It was more like a fun competition. It’s also easier for boys to get into places easier in different schools because it’s like there’s not a lot of boys.”

Being so talented comes with additional challenges. 

“The other thing that has always been so hard is, since Noah and I are more talented than the average kid our age, we’ve always been in classes with kids 3 years older than us,” said Savannah. “All of my friends are 18 and over. I haven’t always been able to hang out with them because they’re older. They can do a ton of things that I can’t do. So that’s always been pretty hard.”

Both greatly appreciate their parents’ support.

“We both appreciate how much our parents have done for us,” said Savannah. “ I mean all of the money that they’ve put into it, the time driving us to and from the studio every single day. It’s really amazing.”

For more information visit https://gofund.me/4fdb9585