It is 6 p.m. and junior Tessa Jianas waits in a dance studio, 2000 miles away from her home and school, for her host parents to pick her up to go back to their home, her temporary home. Jianas has been finished with her seven hours of daily training for the past two hours, but her host parents could not give her a ride until they got off work. While she waits, she attempts to teach herself the math lessons she has missed while she has been in Oregon for the last month.

Jianas left her parents, siblings, friends and STA Oct. 5 to become a member of the Eugene Ballet Company, a professional dance company based in Oregon, and has performed seven shows with them in various parts of Oregon over the last month.

Accumulating the talent necessary to dance with a professional company began at a young age for Jianas. 

Early Beginnings

When Jianas was three years-old, she asked her mother, Ms. Susan Jianas, to sign her up to take dance classes. 

‘She just told me one day that she wanted to take ballet,’ Susan said. ‘I was kind of shocked because I was going to wait until the first or second grade like I did for my older daughter.’

Since Tessa was too young to take lessons from the Kansas City Ballet, she began lessons with a former Kansas City Ballet dancer. Then in kindergarten, Tessa began taking various dance classes with the Kansas City Ballet whom she has been with ever since. 

‘It is weird because even when I was a toddler doing ballet, I was always really focused and into the music,’ Tessa said. ‘I could not tell you one time when I became ‘Ëœcommitted.’ I guess I just always was.’

Last spring, the director of the Kansas City Ballet Peter Pawlyshyn recommended Tessa to the artistic director of the Eugene Ballet Company, Ms. Tony Pimble. Pawlyshyn used to work with the Eugene Ballet Company and thought it would be a good opportunity for Tessa. Both ballet directors watched Jianas during a dance class, and Pimble agreed she should be a part of the company’s Sleeping Beauty production this fall.

According to Pawlyshyn, Jianas stands out from other Kansas City Ballet dancers for her maturity, work ethic, grace and talent.

‘Tessa is a mature, giving young lady and just deserves the opportunities something like [performing with the Eugene Ballet Company] would provide her,’ Pawlyshyn said. ‘It was a pleasure and privilege to recommend her to the Eugene Ballet Company.’Â 

On the Road

Tessa and her family soon learned what being a part of the Eugene Ballet Company would entail. Tessa would have to be away from home for a month, train daily and perform seven shows in various parts of Oregon.

The Eugene Ballet Company is a professional dance group, so the required abilities are very advanced, according to Pawlyshyn.

‘It requires a lot of skills, not only in ballet technique but modern technique, contemporary technique, jazz technique, acting, public relations, being able to speak intelligently to fund members, board members and community people and to be able to advocate for the arts,’ Pawlyshyn said. ‘It’s a small company of 22 members. Everybody has to be able to do everything and they truly do everything they can to help one another.’

Despite these obligations, the Jianas family decided to accept the opportunity.

‘These chances to dance with a professional company don’t come around all the time,’ Susan said. ‘Some people are more lucky than others, but it’s kind of one of those things for us that if Tessa gets the opportunity then we want to be able to support her.’

Only two obstacles remained at that point: Tessa’s living accommodations in Oregon and approval from STA of Tessa’s absence. For various reasons, including Tessa’s father’s business, the family dogs and the expense, Tessa’s parents could not join her in Oregon for the whole month. So, Pawlyshyn suggested that Tessa stay with a family that has a teenager who is a student at the Eugene Ballet Company and also involved with the Sleeping Beauty performance with Tessa. Although not personally knowing this family was a bit ‘worrisome’ for Susan at first, she said the arrangement has worked out fine.

Finally, Susan called Principal of Academic Affairs Barbara McCormick to make arrangements with STA regarding Tessa’s completion of her school work over her extended absence.

Cutting Class

According to Susan, McCormick was very supportive of Tessa’s opportunity. McCormick called a meeting with Tessa, Susan and Tessa’s teachers to devise the best plan for the completion of her schoolwork. They decided Tessa should keep up with her lessons as much as possible while away and turn in her assignments electronically. However, this method has proved to be difficult for Tessa.

‘I have just been feeling more stress and pressure, because what I would really like to do is just focus on dance while I am here, since that is what I came here for,’ Tessa said. ‘However, I have to carry my backpack with all my books to ballet everyday, and I have felt like no matter how hard I work, I am always behind in my schoolwork. The emails I have been getting from my teachers also serve as a reminder that I have too much stuff to worry about while I am away and living all on my own.’

According to Susan, Tessa’s status on schoolwork is a common topic of discussion during their daily telephone conversations. Tessa feels that her grades will reflect her absence from the classroom.

‘Let me just say it is going to be nearly impossible to keep up my grades this semester, unless I never sleep, which would definitely not help my focus or health for that matter,’ Tessa said.

In addition to academic troubles, dancing has been a hindrance to Tessa’s social life.

Teenage Troubles

According to Tessa, she feels she lives the life of a normal teenage girl only because she knows nothing different than her dancing lifestyle. However, Tessa does not have the time to participate in many of the activities STA girls consider essential. 

‘I do miss it when my friends can get together on the weekends or after school and I can’t,’ Tessa said. ‘I can never just lie around and watch TV or relax it seems. The one thing that is kind of sad is that it seems like I can never make it to dances like homecoming. I had a show in Eugene [OR] the night of Teresian.’

According to Tessa, all her free time is committed to ballet.

‘In [Kansas City], around shows I could be dancing approximately 24 hours a week,’ Tessa said. ‘[In Oregon], I dance from at least 8 [a.m.] to 4 [p.m.] each day, with short breaks in between, and my schedule gets crazier during days of shows. Every once in a while, the company members and I will have a day off to rest, but I always do my homework then, so it isn’t much of a break for me.’

Despite these setbacks, Tessa said she has no regrets regarding her involvement in dance and hopes to continue dancing as long as possible.

‘Professional dancing is a career you can only have for so long, because it is a job someone has in his or her younger years,’ Tessa said. ‘But I would love to dance professionally and then become a dance teacher and a mom later in my life.’