One of DeKalb High School’s own, Maggie Matthiesen, has been accepted into an intensive ballet program at Ballet Chicago this summer, according to a news release.

She’s among other dancers who’ve just learned that they qualify for the 4-week to 5-week training experiences.

At Ballet Chicago, Matthiesen is expected to study classical ballet, Balanchine, modern dance, and classical Spanish dance under expert faculty, according to a release.

“We’re so proud of Maggie for making this commitment to her art,” Dimensions Youth Ballet Artistic Director Miranda Cordes said in a news release. “We require our company dancers to attend at least one external audition per year because I recognize how valuable this experience is for their growth. The audition process – and the process of attending a summer intensive for those who are able– encourages them to get out of their comfort zone and home studio, to expand their vision and help them believe in themselves.”

Matthiesen is one of several dancers from Dimensions Youth Ballet in DeKalb this season accepted into summer programs, whether it be with Joffrey Ballet, Ballet Chicago, Milwaukee Ballet, or the Ruth Page Center for the Arts.

In building on the momentum that dancers receive at Dimensions Youth Ballet, these intensive programs immerse students into dance with 40 hours per week of classes in repertoire, technique, and stretching and strength exercises, all of which are generally completed in five-week sessions.

Experiences in Dimensions Youth Ballet’s performance company often help prepare dancers to take on such training opportunities, performing locally and building on foundational skills and dance company experience.

Cordes said she hopes to help broaden the experience of young dancers.

She had started her own career in dance as a local youth.

“Our goal is to help our DeKalb area youth get out into the world for bigger and better dance experiences,” Cordes said in a release.

Matthiesen has long been into the expression of dance and is excited to learn more this summer.

“I started dancing when I was three,” Matthiesen said in a release. “I just loved it so much that it beat out all my other sports. I love tap dancing because I find comfort in the rhythms. I really like ballet for its history and artistry.”

Matthiesen said location mattered to her in choosing a summer training program, as did an opportunity to improve her technique. She pointed to when she was in sixth grade, learning to dance en pointe, as a turning point for her and her dance experience.

“I was struggling with dance at that time, so pointe shoes served as a motivation to ease me back into dance and help my focus remain,” Matthiesen said in a release. “I really took to it, so it helped me latch on to dance better.”

Since then, Matthiesen has showcased her dancing en pointe skills in Dimensions Youth Ballet’s annual performances – most recently as a demi-soloist in Giselle – and in the Fox Valley Ballet’s Nutcracker, according to a release.

“Dancing in the Nutcracker was a big learning experience for me,” Matthiesen said in a release. “They have a well-known professional teacher who worked with the Waltz of the Flowers dancers. I was an understudy for that section for a while. Then this past year I was in that section, so it got me way more comfortable as a pointe dancer in a big corps de ballet.”

Maggie’s father, DJ Matthiesen, expressed support for his daughter.

“It took a long time for Maggie to get here,” DJ Matthiesen said. “She’s auditioned every year for these intensives since she was 11. She’s always been accepted, but she’s always been hesitant to reach that next level and commit to being with a whole new company. This year, I’m very proud of her. She really latched onto the idea and has been very excited. She’s worked very hard to get here.”

At $3,000 for tuition, it’s a bit of an undertaking for dancers, like Matthiesen, to commit to such training programs.

But Dimensions Youth Ballet strives to help students by offering scholarships, which are made possible by donations through Give DeKalb County, the annual donation platform dedicated to serving nonprofits located in or serving DeKalb County.