December 4, 2019
Page 9
Big Dreams for Young Ballerina
C ontinued from f ront
mas production of the Nut-
cracker. The performance will
be at 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec.
20 at the Lincoln Performance
Hall at Portland State Univer-
sity. The academy will have
two other performances of the
Nutcracker on Dec. 19 and
21, Rigles said, with different
leading cast members for each
performance, giving more kids
the opportunity to share the
spotlight.
But the spotlight is where
Jones, a Russell Elementary
fourth grader wants to be, she
explained, as she moved lithe-
ly across the dance floor in the
practice studio, preparing her
moves. Eventually, she wants
to open her own dance school
and teach, she said.
Aanaiyah’s
grandmother,
Bettye Jones, has been a main-
stay in encouraging her grand-
daughter’s passion for dance,
which began the moment she
crashed a ballet class that was
underway at Peninsula Park
when she was three.
“She saw a group of little
girls and she just went over
a joined them,” Bettye Jones
said.
Ross said it’s gratifying that
a young dancer got her start
through Portland Parks.
“She took dance instruction
from teacher Sandy Shaner at
Peninsula Park Community
Center for two years starting
at age three,” Ross said. “Her
skills and prowess led her to
lessons at Portland’s presti-
gious Classical Ballet Acade-
my where her talent allowed
her to skip ahead in their rig-
orous program and to begin
advanced training year-round.”
The young Jones said she
picked the academy to advance
her skills not just because of its
dance curriculum, but also for
its philosophy, in that it pro-
motes “principles of fairness,
equity, diversity and inclusion
in relations to, and across, in-
tersections of race, age, color,
disability…” among other val-
ues she holds dear.
“I like what’s being taught
here, I like the teachers, the
students, the parents and the
whole program,” she said.
b everly C orbell /
t he p ortland o bserver
photo by
Aanaiyah Jones (center) is
learning the skills necessary
to become a professional
ballerina thanks to the
mentorship and instruction
she receives from Sarah
Rigles (left), director
of the Classical Ballet,
and the support and the
encouragement of her
grandmother, Bettye Jones.