'Ballet is already my life': 14-year-old Calgary phenom off to Monaco academy

When Taylor Yanke got into ballet, she was only three years old, and she wasn't sure if she was any good at it.

"I didn't know that I had a talent for it but I loved doing it, so I kept coming back every single day," Yanke told CBC News.

"I loved every single class that I did. My love of ballet just took me to the class, it wasn't my parents wanting me to do extracurricular activities."

The 14-year-old has shown such an aptitude for storytelling through movement that the global dance community is now taking notice.

Yanke is off to study the art of ballet at the Académie Princesse Grace in Monaco this fall on a scholarship.

"It has become one of the world's most renowned ballet academies. I am so honoured to have been given a place among the really talented students there," Yanke said.

It's a lot of hard work

"The teachers are so passionate about what they do, so it makes you want to work hard every day. It's a lot of hard work there but I am ready and willing because that's what it takes to achieve my dream of becoming a professional dancer."

It's a four-year program and dance schools from around the world often drop in to find the next generation of dancers.

"I love ballet because it is challenging, it takes so much strength and stamina but the most important part is the appearance of it, not just the mere execution of a step," she said.

"When you are doing a ballet, you have to do the turns and jumps correctly, but at the same time you have to be telling a story and making it look like it's effortless."

When asked about her future in ballet, Yanke couldn't answer quickly enough.

"Ballet is already my life. I do it every day, all day and I love it. I am moving away so I can go and do more ballet."

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