A ballerina's special Valentine

Mother starts fundraiser to send daughter to Russian training program

Simone Wulfhorst, left, 12, practices ballet under the watchful eye of instructor Mia Song Seshiki on Wednesday in Moscow. Parker was accepted into a summer ballet training program at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Connecticut, and is now raising funds so she can attend. Dean Hare/Daily News.

By Elizabeth Rudd, Daily News staff writer
Mar 5, 2013 Updated Mar 5, 2013

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Valentines come in the form of flowers or chocolates for many people. For 12-year-old Simone Wulfhorst, this year it came as an acceptance letter into the Bolshoi Ballet Academy summer program.

Valentines come in the form of flowers or chocolates for many people. For 12-year-old Simone Wulfhorst, this year it came as an acceptance letter into the Bolshoi Ballet Academy summer program.

Simone, who has been dancing since she was 3 or 4, became serious about ballet around 8. Her mother, Julia Parker, said she thought Simone would really enjoy dance, so they enrolled her at Spectrum Dance in Pullman.

"She was always a little girl who was spinning around," said Parker, a nurse for the Moscow School District.

When Simone was 6, she started with Festival Dance in Moscow. Parker, a single mother of three other children, said once she was out of the really little age, it became apparent Simone was good at ballet - her teachers would pull Parker aside to tell her Simone could really excel at dance.

"She just kind of quickly became good at it," Parker said.

Three years ago, Simone auditioned for the Kirov Academy summer program and was accepted. Last year, she auditioned for six or seven companies and the only one she didn't get into was Bolshoi.

This year, Simone was offered a spot in the Ballet West program by its director without an audition after he worked with her at the Northwest Music Festival in Spokane. Parker said she asked Simone if she wanted to audition for any other company or if she would be happy with the Ballet West offer.

Simone said she only wanted to tryout for Bolshoi.

"I just wanted to see if I could make it because I didn't make it last year, so it was like, 'Huh, I wonder if I can make it,' " Simone said.

The audition was the first week of February and a couple weeks later both Parker and Simone received emails with an attached acceptance letter.

"I was really happy, and I was kind of startled because I wasn't very happy with my performance that audition," Simone said. "But it was by far the best Valentines I've ever gotten."

The Bolshoi Ballet Academy is located in Moscow, Russia, but coordinates with the Russian American Foundation in New York to operate summer programs, including the one in Connecticut that Simone will attend. The programs are based on a curriculum designed by the academy and taught by its master teachers.

"I think it will be cool because the classes are taught in Russian with a translator," Simone said as one reason she is excited for the program.

Parker said she believes the Bolshoi program is the best out there for classical ballet training. The teachers, she said, are very precise, strict and demanding, which will help to develop Simone's skills.

"All that's good for her because it will push her forward in a short amount of time," Parker said.

Simone will attend the second three-week session that begins July 15. Parker said the program costs $3,750 for tuition, room and board, plus additional costs for plane tickets to and from.

"I really have mixed feelings about it," Parker said, "because I'm really excited for her but it's also really expensive."

To help pay for it, they began a FundRazr webpage Feb. 16 that is a crowd-sourcing fundraiser, and also held a bake sale at the last Winter Market. As of Feb. 27, they had raised $1,750. Parker said they have received donations from a variety of people from family and friends to next door neighbors, people who support the arts, children or just want to help, and even those who have remained anonymous.

"People have been so kind and generous," Parker said. "It's just really been great."

Simone said the Bolshoi program will allow her to see what is out there in terms of ballet, and what other dancers her age can and can't do, what to improve and what to work toward.

Because Simone wants to be a professional dancer, Parker said she needs to be exposed to that type of environment. She said while she has a great teacher and program in Moscow, Simone can't get the training she needs without going to the ballet schools, which is why the program is so expensive.

"For several years she's really focused on wanting to be a professional ballet dancer," Parker said. "That's not easy. She has a lot of potential, but it's a really difficult road. The training is key."

But for Simone, it's worth the long hours of daily practice.

"It's become so much part of my life that it would be hard to live without it ... so it's like a necessity, like food," she said.

On the web

To see Simone's FundRazr site, visit https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/5RJs5.