Devotion to Ballet : Youth, 17, Reaches for a Star--on Tiptoes

Raul Alvarez, 17, was not performing up to the standards of his demanding teacher.

“I want to see your ribs all the time, Raul,” the teacher admonished, singling out Raul from among her dozen ballet pupils. “I don’t see your ribs.”

Raul straightened his torso, as though pulled from above by an invisible string, and repeated the ballet exercise to the strains of Chopin. And then he smiled broadly.

For Raul, every bit of criticism is prized. Propelled by a variety of scholarships and his own unquestioned talent, the East Los Angeles teen-ager spends up to five hours a day in ballet slippers as he strives to become a professional ballet dancer.

“God gave me a body that can be structured into the dance form,” Raul said of his talent. “My goal is to be the best dancer I can possibly be--and that means dance, dance, dance.”

Art Scholarships

Community activists cite Raul as an example of the importance of providing performing arts scholarships to talented inner-city youths. He recently won a scholarship to go to New York this summer to study at the prestigious School of American Ballet. Last summer, the high school junior trained in New York with the world renowned Dance Theatre of Harlem--also because of a scholarship.

His mother, Josefina, 44, said she and her husband brought their 10 children from Mexico just so they could have the kind of experiences that Raul is now enjoying. “Here, there are opportunities,” she said proudly.

Raul received his first dance training in Mexican folk-dancing classes in elementary school and in jazz-dancing lessons at a community park. Teachers noticed his ability and recommended him for a variety of scholarships. He eventually won admission to the Hollywood High School for Performing Arts and makes an hourlong bus trip there each day from home.

His biggest break came in November, 1983. He was among 21 youngsters selected out of more than 230 who came to Los Angeles to audition for a chance to spend the summer in New York studying with teachers from the internationally renowned Dance Theatre of Harlem.

Lessons in Pasadena

All those who tried out for the scholarships in 1983 will receive free lessons in Pasadena this week by company instructors.

“At the end of each day, I was in total pain,” Raul said, recalling his intensive studies in New York last summer. “Every muscle throbbed and my calves, my side, everything ached. It was wonderful.”

Raul came here from Mexico at age 7. His father, a factory worker, often worked 16 hours a day to support the family. His mother recalled that the family had difficulty persuading landlords to rent to them because they had so many children. They live in a two-bedroom bungalow in East Los Angeles. Four beds have been added to the garage and a fifth bed to the single bathroom to accommodate the family.

The mantel of their home is covered with trophies marking the athletic and academic achievements of the children. “My parents told us we could do whatever we set out to do,” Raul said. But his mother takes none of the credit.

“I feel that all my children are very intelligent,” she said in Spanish.

As a youngster, Raul loved gymnastics and spent hours on the living room floor stretching and contorting his body. In junior high school, his abilities on the dance floor stirred the admiration and the respect of his classmates.

“When he danced, everybody would crowd around and cheer,” said his brother, Antonio, 19, who is going to Stanford University next year on an academic scholarship. “His friends would come up to me and say, ‘Your brother is so good.’ ”

Raul did not begin formal ballet lessons until he received a scholarship 1 1/2 years ago to study at the Stanley Holden Dance Center in West Los Angeles. From there, he applied for the Dance Theatre of Harlem scholarship, financed by a grant by the Atlantic Richfield Corp. He said he did not think he had a chance but decided that he had nothing to lose by trying. With each new scholarship, he said, his confidence grows.

Confidence Expressed

“It sort of makes me feel I have a good chance and it’s up to me to see how far I’m going to take that,” Raul said.

He travels by bus from Hollywood each day to his dance classes, where he practices four hours each evening. His weekends are usually spent rehearsing for community performances.

“I think ballet is a discipline that not everybody can do, and it makes me feel special,” he said. “I feel I am doing something that not just anybody in the street can do.”