In Pursuit of Perfection

Warming up at the barre.

Syvertson warms up at the barre during her Wednesday evening ballet class. Classes are usually 90 minutes long and begin with barre exercises.

Laughing with friends.

During dress rehearsal for Dracula, Syvertson laughs with her friends who are like family to her. "They're like my sisters," she says. "They're always there for me and they care."

Studying at home.

Just minutes after coming home, Syvertson prepares to work on homework and get ready for the next day.

Singing ribbons

Careful not to singe her fingers, Syvertson burns the end of her pointe shoe ribbons to prevent them from fraying.

Taking on the role.

Syvertson takes the hand of her director and fellow performer, John Bishop, during dress rehearsal for Dracula.

Practicing technique.

Syvertson and a fellow dancer practice partnering techniques during class. After a full day of school, ballet is a welcome stress reliever for Syvertson. "I can let go of all my worries, and the school drama just goes away when I'm taking class," Syvertson says.

The calm before the performance.

Tiptoeing carefully onstage, Syvertson breaks in new pointe shoes just 20 minutes before her opening performance of Dracula at McIntyre Hall in Mount Vernon.

The Life of a Young Ballerina

Five minutes until curtain,” someone says over the intercom as nerves tense and hearts race. For Delci Syvertson, a 15-year-old girl aspiring to be a professional dancer, the seconds before stepping onstage are filled with a nervous excitement that changes with each role she performs.

“It’s like all adrenaline,” she laughs. “You have to pee really bad for 20 seconds and then it stops.”

Syvertson started dancing when she was three or four at Dancing for Joy in Bellingham. She began with contemporary and jazz, but eventually found her way to ballet after her mom suggested it. At first she hated ballet, but after she transitioned to the Northwest Ballet Theater in downtown Bellingham she began to fall in love with it.

Outside of school Syvertson spends around 16 hours dancing each week. Sometimes balancing school and ballet can be difficult, especially when she has less free time than her friends at school, she says.

Director of Northwest Ballet Theater John Bishop cast Syvertson as Lucy, one of the lead roles, in his original production of Dracula. She felt this role helped her strengthen her technique and partnering skills.

Syvertson hopes to attend a dance program at either the University of Washington or Cornish College of the Arts.

Even though she is constantly busy with school and ballet, Syvertson can’t imagine her life without dance, she says.

“Dance is my life.”