Graceful determination

Mike Sciacca

Meghan Van Winkle fixed an astute gaze into the mirror, her

concentration unwavering, much like the pose she was holding.

Her reflection revealed that her arms were gracefully extended out to

her sides as she effortlessly ascended from a flat-footed, standing

position -- adding about six inches to her 5-foot, 6-inch frame, in the

process -- to the very tips of her toes, as her arms extended skyward.

It was a typical afternoon for Van Winkle at the Southland Ballet

Academy in Fountain Valley, where the 15-year-old has studied ballet for

11 years. She is in the midst of preparation for next month’s USA

International Ballet competition to be held in Jackson, Miss.

The Huntington Beach High School freshman survived 1,000 applicants worldwide who sent in audition videos for consideration to land a spot in

the prestigious, international event.

The Olympic-style competition is held every four years in Jackson for

approximately three weeks. Dancers, who range in age from 15 to 26, are

judged and eliminated as part of the competition progresses.

Van Winkle will compete in the Junior category -- ages 15 to 18, and,

as one of only 100 ballerinas to land a spot in Jackson, she is the

youngest.

The international event gets underway on June 16.

“I am so excited to be going,” she said. “It’s an honor to be

recognized.”

Under the direction of her instructor, Salwa Rizkalla, Van Winkle

trains for more than three hours a day, four days a week. She works on

technique in addition to rehearsing the four classical variations and two

contemporary pieces she will perform in Jackson.

Rizkalla will be with Van Winkle at the international competition.

“Winning any competition is very difficult because ballet is very

subjective. You just don’t know what the judges will be looking for,”

said Rizkalla, who has taught ballet in the U.S. since 1980 and has run the Southland Ballet Academy since 1983. “But I do know about Meghan and

she performs with a lot of emotion, feeling and quality.”

That happened last weekend in New York City, where Van Winkle was

performing in the Lincoln Center at the Youth America Grand Prix

competition. She caught the eye of Tadeusz Matacz, the principal of the

Stuttgarter Ballet’s John Cranko School in Stuttgarter, Germany.

Rizkalla said that Matacz has shown interest in extending a one-year

scholarship to Van Winkle to attend one of the best ballet schools in all

of Europe next year.

A decision either way won’t be known until the fall, Rizkalla said.

“I think it would be an incredible experience, to study in

Stuttgarter,” Van Winkle said.

Van Winkle should know, she has studied ballet since the age of 3.

She noted that “point” shoes go for $50 a pair, and she goes through

one pair of shoes a week. Then there’s the leotards, which can run about

$40. On top of that, the price tag of her tutu was $600 -- something

Rizkalla had to remind her of.

She says that a solo ballet class can run $25 per half hour.

Van Winkle has attempted to land different sponsors to support her

ballet. She has gotten some support to help defray some of the costs, she

said, but has no solid sponsor. She says that she could not have pursued

her dreams had it not been for her parents, David and Maureen.

She had received a summer scholarship to attend the Rock Ballet School

in Pennsylvania this summer, but declined. Instead, she will train, for

the third time, at the American Ballet Theater of Orange County for three

weeks this August at UC Irvine.

Van Winkle also was able to gain the attention of John Meehan of the

prestigious American Ballet Theater.

Last January she competed at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at the

Music Center Spotlight Awards, an event staged for Southern California

high school students involved with performing arts. Van Winkle is a

member of the dance program in Huntington Beach High School’s Academy for

the Performing Arts, where she is a member of both the modern dance class

and ballet ensemble.

In the spotlight awards classical dance competition, where 500 high

school applicants participated, Van Winkle advanced to the top 22 and

from that group, finished among the top nine students.

Her reward came in the form of taking a class taught by Meehan at the

Music Center last April.

* MIKE SCIACCA covers sports and features. He can be reached at (714)

965-7171 or by e-mail at michael.sciacca@latimes.com.