This year, Atlanta Ballet 2 student Kahlen Wright will take on five roles in the company’s Nutcracker.
“Every year I love it more,” she says. Wright began at the company’s Centre for Dance Education (Centre) in the fourth grade and has now worked her way through its six-level Academy program and onto Atlanta Ballet 2 (AB2), the professional bridge between school and company.
“I never get tired of it here,” she says.
AB2 is composed of advanced dancers from across the world who work with the Centre’s elite faculty and have many professional performance opportunities throughout the year. Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance Education celebrates a milestone next year, as it turns 30.
To celebrate, Wright and two other students share what makes the organization so special and why they can’t picture themselves anywhere else.
Kahlen Wright on Faculty That Feel Like Family
“I love that I grew up with the same teachers, and they know when to push me, when to go easy on me,” Wright says. “There’s such great communication here that I just feel so comfortable.”
Some teachers, Wright says, genuinely feel like family. Faculty at the Centre mentor students through life events, dance-related or not. When Wright decided to begin homeschooling, for example, her teachers were there to talk it over with her.
“It was a really tough decision for me, giving up the school experience, putting myself entirely into a world of dance. But [my teachers] helped me feel comfortable with that,” Wright says.
For Wright, this support helped her feel grounded as she progressed through the school’s ranks. As an AB2 dancer, she now dances alongside the company regularly, including in La Sylphide, Beauty and the Beast, Swan Princess, and a new Cinderella production from Bruce Wells.
“It was such a different experience,” Wright says of working with Wells. “And it was more of a collaborative thing, so that was good for me.”
Even during repeat productions like The Nutcracker, Wright says, the faculty ensures that she learns something new every year. “They give me so many opportunities,” she says. “It feels really good.”
Daniel Gray on Unique Performance Opportunities and Unique Education
Daniel Gray enrolled at the Centre in 2018, the same year that Atlanta Ballet updated its Nutcracker with a new production from Yuri Possokhov. Despite being new to the school, Gray was cast as Fritz in the show and also toured with the company to the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.
“Getting to be the new kid and getting that opportunity was very nice,” Gray says. “I was so young, but [it was] definitely a good, supportive environment that helped me progress.”
After several years at the Academy, Gray was promoted to AB2. He credits those early performance opportunities with helping inspire him to keep going, and the Centre’s teachers supported him every step of the way. “They definitely pour into you,” he says. “Highlighting specific things for you—that’s what I always appreciate, there’s always a variety.”
Even after he graduated from a level, Gray says, his teachers, especially Natalya Vyashenko, remained invested in him, checking in during rehearsals and staying in touch. “I feel like she’s proud of me,” he says. “She helped me get to this point and definitely supports me now.”
Gray also stayed for the school’s summer programs during his time at the Academy, and he credits the curriculum for providing him with the strong foundation he needed for AB2.
“Dance history was something I really enjoyed,” he says. “And you get contemporary, you get ballet… I wasn’t as used to doing modern, but it helped me in my range and what I’m able to do now.”
Isabela Oku on Company Mentorship That Leads to Success
Isabela Oku arrived at the Centre for Dance Education in 2023. Originally from Brazil, she chose the school and company for their diverse repertoire and supportive faculty.
Oku’s first Nutcracker experience solidified her career path in ballet. “In my first year, The Nutcracker was so special because it felt so magical,” she says. “The costumes, the orchestra, the theater, the choreography. Everything was so amazing, and I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s what I want to be.’ ”
The following season, Oku’s teachers helped her achieve a childhood dream: playing Young Marie. “It is really, really special to me,” she says. “Since I was little, I’d dreamed of that role.”
Oku also has stayed for the school’s intensives, where she’s enjoyed working with company répétiteurs, who teach classes for students during the summers. “They really are amazing,” Oku says. “Their corrections are really nice.”
In addition to building relationships with company staff, summer students also gain repertoire experience. “This year we did Giselle and La Bayadère,” Oku says.
Oku came back from summer study well-prepared for the school’s many performance opportunities. As an AB2 student, she returned as Young Marie in The Nutcracker and performed in Atlanta Ballet’s Coppélia this year.
“This company, they’re all so nice,” she says. “They’re really sweet, always helping, always there to support you.”
Learn more about the Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance Education and start your journey by registering to audition for its summer intensives here.
