“Graceful, painful, lots of dedication and determination,” says Aragon alumna Candy Tong to describe ballet. Ballet started for Tong as a childhood activity when her mom enrolled her in classes to see if she enjoyed dancing. What started as a hobby became Tong’s passion. “I love to perform for an audience,” says Tong, who currently studies at the English National Ballet School in London.
Tong began her journey in Belmont at Ayako’s School of Ballet. She then trained at the Menlo Park Academy of Dance, San Francisco Ballet, and the Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle, all before graduating high school. Ballet dancers find themselves beginning to plan for their careers very early on since starting young in dance careers is essential to train the body correctly and because ballerinas often find themselves with a full time job with a company by 20. Tong says, “When I was 12 or 13, I got really serious with ballet and I knew I really wanted to do this.”
Starting a career in ballet at a young age can have a large impact—especially on education. Some dancers opt for home schooling or online school in middle school to successfully complete the rigorous and time-consuming training. However, Tong went on a more traditional route for her schooling; she was able to balance both ballet and school. “I went to Aragon for three periods in the morning and went to San Francisco Ballet later in the day. I then graduated early and left in the middle of junior [year] to train in New York. I also did online courses … I was technically still a student because I wanted to walk in the ceremony,” she explains. “At times [it was difficult], but I always did homework in the car … My homework load wasn’t too much as well,” Tong says. She also did not have to sacrifice all aspects of high school. “I did get to see my friends. I still wanted to have a normal high school experience.”
While many dancers end their formal education after high school, Tong plans on attending college. “I’m actually enrolled in UC Irvine. I deferred for a year to pursue ballet, but I do want to go to college. Once I settle in my ballet career, I will go to college. I want a college degree.”
This year Tong won Miss Dance of California from the Dance Masters of California. The award is given to the best dancer in California based on a performance before a panel of judges and an interview. Upon winning, she was able to compete for Miss Dance of America, in which she placed fifth runner up.
Tong has also faced many challenges in the push to pursue this career. A few weeks ago, she experienced a stress fracture in her right metatarsal. “I kept pushing until I could not point my foot any more and I knew something was wrong,” says Tong. The competition can be so fierce that dancers are willing to endure pain rather than take the risk of sitting out since there is always someone waiting to take an injured dancer’s spot. It can be dangerous to sit out, even briefly. Dancers constantly struggle to balance keeping themselves safe and knowing when they can push through pain of dancing injuries. “I’m auditioning for companies, and everyone is fighting for that one job. We’re all really stressed out. Being injured right now at this crucial point has been really depressing,” explains Tong. However, she is not letting this injury stop her from moving forward. “I’m just watching classes and taking notes. I’ve been doing floor barre and strengthening my core … The first couple days I was in shock and in denial. I did not believe my doctor at that point that I had a fracture. I’m just trying to stay positive,” Tong says.
Tong has much support from her family, mentors at both Aragon and San Francisco Ballet, and Instagram followers. She has almost 5,000 dedicated followers on her Instagram, @candytong12, that enjoy her ballet pictures, including photoshoots by the popular photographer @balletzaida. Ballet Zaida specializes in professional photos of dancers in popular locations around the United States such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, and Boston. Tong is part of a calendar sold by Ballet Zaida featuring select shots of the dancers the artist has photographed. “It’s a small world and everyone knows who you are. I’ve seen random people in London come and day to me ‘Oh, I’ve seen you on Instagram!’ It’s really nice. It can help you get connections and know people, especially at a competition. You don’t want to be a nobody at a competition,” explains Tong.
“I think that this made me a lot more mature because we learn to become very determined and I think that if I didn’t have dance I wouldn’t be as mature as I am today. It teaches you a lot of discipline which I think a lot of people my age lack,” she says.
Despite her accomplishments, Tong says, “I’ll never really be satisfied with my goals. I’ll never be perfect. I’ll always be challenging myself.”
