- Colby Saltz, 14, films an audition video for the prestigious Bolshoi Ballet Academy in December. Saltz had been diagnosed with scoliosis of her upper spine just months prior.
- "Jennifer Dulin, Texas Youth Ballet director:
- That’s just like tearing her heart out because she so wants to be a ballet dancer.”
Colby Saltz performs as the Sugarplum Fairy in Texas Youth Ballet Conservatory’s “Krakatuk: A Nutcracker Prequel.” The next night, after another performance, she had spinal fusion surgery.
This summer, Colby Saltz will grace Bolshoi Ballet Academy, one of the nation’s premier summer intensive programs. A few months ago, she didn’t know if she’d dance again.
Saltz, 14, a top performer with Texas Youth Ballet Conservatory (TYBC) in McKinney, is about eight weeks removed from spinal fusion surgery. Her upper spine no longer juts sideways, though a reminding scar peeks from her ballet dress, a symbol of her unyielding desire.
“It’s been very inspirational,” said Jennifer Dulin, TYBC artistic director. “It is a real good example for the younger kids on what kind of determination is required.”
Saltz is a constant, quick learner, driven by dreams of a spot on an international company. For her, it’s a matter of when and with whom, not if.
She’ll have corrections fine-tuned in a day, and was accepted into every major summer intensive she applied for last year; only lack of funds kept her away.
Then a dancer’s worst nightmare happened.
Scoliosis most often develops in adolescence, between ages 10 to 15, and affects about 7 million people in the U.S., according to American Chiropractic Association. In many cases, the spine is curved at less than 20 degrees and not easily detected. The potential nightmare became Saltz’s sudden reality.
“That’s just like tearing her heart out,” Dulin said, “because she so wants to be a ballet dancer.”
On a studio day in October, Saltz wasn’t holding alignment, a maneuver she could do in her sleep, and Dulin noticed “a pretty significant curve” to her spine. That was enough for Saltz’s mother, Denise – they soon saw a specialist.
In a short span, her spine swiftly bent. Pushing for surgery, doctors shocked the mother and daughter, who expected maybe just a brace until Saltz was done growing.
“The first thing I thought was, ‘Will I be able to dance?” Saltz recalled.
Curvature to the lower spine can be more debilitating to movement, and Saltz’s was between her shoulder blades. Surgery was set, but she didn’t tiptoe away from ballet – not yet, and hopefully not ever.
In December, Saltz pranced as the Sugarplum Fairy for TYBC’s holiday performance, wincing inside from pain. That same night, she checked into the hospital and had her spine – the lifeblood of her passion – fixed.
Doctors predicted at least a few months of recovery, time for her back muscles to reinvent themselves. Saltz had other ideas. She’s determined to regain the flexibility and form she had such a short time ago.
And she nearly has, quickly and surely.
“She’s an incredibly dedicated girl,” her mother said. “There’s really nowhere else she’d rather be than the studio.”
This week she returned to her normal dance load: 20 to 25 hours, not including rehearsals and rehab at home. Curved spine or not, it’s a cake-spin compared to the upcoming intensive. At Bolshoi, it’ll be five-hour days, five days a week for six weeks.
First, though, are TYBC’s Spring Potpourri in March and its “Peter Pan” production in May. Saltz will dance complicated roles in both.
This setback may have prepped Saltz for the intensity more than anything. She said the injury has pushed her harder. In ballet, there’s no room on the stage for weakness or second-guessing. In fast order, the lesson is a tune Saltz chooses not to slow down to.
She’s gracefully, precisely twirling to it.
Source: Star Local Media, 22nd Feb 2015
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