It was during the intermission of “The Nutcracker” when 3-year-old Tess Carpenter looked up at her mother and asked if she could start ballet classes.
Fast forward 14 years, and Carpenter, now a senior at Belmont High School, is pirouetting across the stage in Développé Evolving Dance School’s version of “The Nutcracker,” called “Clara’s Voyage.”
Kaayna Jain, a junior at Belmont High School, also discovered her love of dance at the age of 3 when she and her best friend from preschool joined the same ballet class.
“I’ve always loved moving,” she said. “Even when other sports would come around and I would try things out, I always just wanted to dance.”
The students — who commute from Belmont to Sudbury five times a week to train at Développé — said dancing allows them to connect to a part of the brain unrelated to academics.
“At a certain point, you can just move freely without having to think about anything else,” said Carpenter.
Jain, who also plays piano and saxophone, said dancing helps her connect to her love of music as well. “It allows for a level of thought that is very mindful,” she said.
A New Environment
Both dancers discovered rich connections after joining the pre-professional program at Développé, which involves a 20 hour training commitment per week.
“The people here are definitely worth the drive and hours spent,” Carpenter said.
“I’ve been to a couple of studios before I came to Développé,” said Jain. “And this is the studio that has made me feel the most welcome and also the most seen.”
Meredith Wells, Développé’s director, began her dance school at the height of the pandemic with a small group of students in her backyard. They danced wearing masks on a stage Wells’ husband built in their backyard.
“[The dancers] would come walking out, and because they were so much hotter than the air, there would be steam coming off these kids,” said Susanne Carpenter, Tess’s mother.
Wells created Développé to foster an environment where dancers could be free from the unhealthy standards she experienced in the industry — including the pressure to dance through injuries and illness.
“We can make dancers that can make it in this world without all that baggage that so many of us come into it with,” she said.
Wells checks in with her dancers about how they are doing at the start of classes and includes a Friday afternoon yoga class as part of the training program to help students unwind before Friday and Saturday evening rehearsals.
“The field is changing,” she said. “If you look long enough, you will find people who are actually willing to help you, as opposed to trying to make you into what they think you should be.”
Re-imagining ‘The Nutcracker’
Wells’ innovative approach included imagining an alternative version of “The Nutcracker” after identifying parts of the ballet she felt were harmful.
“There’s so much ick,” she said. “Girl falls in love with doll, doll turns into boy and takes her to a magical land; and then we get into the second act, where it’s just cultural appropriation after cultural appropriation.”
In Wells’ version, Clara is a young woman who dreams of traveling the world. During her voyage, she meets animals from around the globe.
In this year’s show, Carpenter will play a queen bee — Wells’ spin-off of the sugar plum fairy — while Jain will play a peacock and a lynx.
The peacock solo is a contemporary piece, said Jain.
“I’ve been training in contemporary and modern a lot more vigorously over the years — my ballet training started a little bit more recently,” she said, “They all have a sweet spot in my heart.”
Keeping the Light
Jain and Carpenter hope to continue exploring their passions for dance alongside other interests in college.
“I’ve been really lucky to be in environments that are so nurturing that I would always associate dance with a positive emotion,” said Jain. “I just hope it always stays positive.”
“It just makes me happy,” said Carpenter. “I want to keep the connection, but it doesn’t have to be nearly as rigorous.”
Tess’s mother described the joy she sees when the dancers are performing: “They’re glowing on stage, and really loving that moment. And coming together and having fun is just such an important part of that experience.”
She added that the Développpé community has helped Tess feel known for who she is. “She has a sense of belonging there — to me, it’s so important to have her have that.”
Clara’s Voyage will be performed at the Charles Mosesian Theatre in Watertown on Dec. 21 at 3 and 7 p.m., and Dec. 22 at 1 p.m. Tickets can be purchased for $40 at tinyurl.com/364zrj2m. More information about the Développpé Evolving Dance School can be found at evolving-dance.com/.