Dance Dreams, Las Vegas Sun, June 28, 1996

Henderson teen has big dance dreams Lisa Sciortino Friday, June 28, 1996 | 11:59 a.m. Jasmine Villamor is still in shock. Who would have thought she'd be among the young dancers from around the country selected to study ballet this summer at the prestigious Vail International Workshop in Colorado? Certainly not her. "I was like, 'Oh, wow,'" the 14-year-old recalls of learning that she'd been accepted to attend the two-week dance program that began earlier this week. Hundreds of dancers tried out. Only 52 made the final cut. "I was really surprised because there were a lot of girls at my audition that were really good," she says. "I'm surprised that I was one of the few that were chosen." She shouldn't be, though. Jasmine has been studying ballet for 11 years, most of them with the Academy of Nevada Dance Theatre, and has performed in several productions there, including "Cinderella" and "The Nutcracker." Academy Director Linda deBecker says Jasmine's talent has progressed over the years "in a wonderful way." "You can see the joy in her face. She just loves to dance. There's no stopping her," deBecker says. "She's just totally open to correction, and with the physical talent behind that, she's gonna have a career. I have no doubts about it." Or at least an action-packed summer. Jasmine read about the national auditions for the Vail workshop in a ballet magazine earlier this year and decided to give it a go. Being held in conjunction with this year's Vail International Dance Festival, the workshop is designed to give outstanding dance students (ages 11-14), a chance to hone their ballet skills. It is affiliated with renowned Bolshoi Ballet Academy, also in Vail. The workshop will include a rigorous schedule of dance and theater-related courses taught by international guest instructors. Students will learn specific ballet techniques and choreography that they'll perform in a recital at the program's end, according to producing director Katherine Kersten. Sounds like Jasmine will be kept on her toes. Literally. "I hope to gain a lot of technique and (learn) a lot of new dance styles. I plan to go there and come back better than where I left off," she says. "They made a point (to tell us) that the sole reason you're there is for dancing, so the people that are going are really dedicated to dance." Just like she is. "I think about it almost every hour of every day," says Jasmine, who'll be a freshman and a cheerleader at Green Valley High School this fall. "My parents are always telling me I pay too much attention to ballet, but I guess when you find something that you love, you stick to it. "(Ballet is) a really good discipline. It's something that you have to put your mind to. It keeps you motivated and it gives you things to strive for. It gives you goals and it gives you dreams." The decision to forego a summer vacation with her friends, however, was a tough. "I had to put a lot of things on hold here. I can't have a summer that a lot of teenagers have. I have to go and dance," she says. "I figure that if you find something that you really love and really want a lot, you're not going to let it pass through your fingers."