Christmas comes early for young ballerina

A young ballerina from Virginia is part of an elite cast of dancers who will perfrom the iconic The Nutcracker in the run up to Christmas.

Eleven-year-old Sofia Giusti is part of an all-island troupe of 45 dancers who will feature in the Christmas favourite at the Helix, Dublin from December 8-10 as part of the Irish National Youth Ballet’s (INYB) winter programme.

The professionally trained young dancers, including Sofia, were handpicked out of 142 who auditioned for the INYB’s 2022 season from across Ireland. Sofia is trained by the Nicola Fracas School of Ballet and she was accepted into INYB when she was just nine years old, which is a year younger than most. Sofia has already auditioned for full-time vocational ballet schools in the UK and she made it through to the semi-finals of the Royal Ballet School in London. Sofia will play Clara in the INYB’s performance of The Nutcracker. This will be the first unrestricted run of winter shows for the Irish National Youth Ballet since before the pandemic.

Sofia’s mother Ali Giusti paid tribute to her daughter’s dedication in reaching this elite level.

“It’s been a long road but we’re incredibly proud of her. It’s taken a huge amount of commitment and dedication for her to get this far. When she was two and a half she saw the nutcracker on television and she was glued to it. Afterwards she begged me to bring her to ballet and that was the beginning of it. It’s amazing that she is starring in it now!”

Worth it

Ali said they been bringing her to Dublin three times a week since she was seven, which involved a lot of driving and waiting.

“It’s been worth it. You only get one shot at parenting, so if she has a special talent and is willing to put in the effort then it’s a joy to bring her.”

Artistic Director Lindsay Ashe-Browne said her troupe of dancers will deliver on the big stage.

“To dance with Irish National Youth Ballet, you really do need to be among the best dancing talent on the whole island. The performance level is akin to elite athletics. The audition process is strict and competitive, and our dancers are highly trained.

“They each have an unrelenting passion, commitment, and gift for ballet, including young talent Sofia Giusti whose progress we are watching very closely. Many of our dancers have gone on to become fulltime professional career ballet dancers worldwide, which is a remarkable achievement given the level of competition.”

INYB’s The Nutcracker will have matinee and evening performances at The Helix daily from Thursday to Saturday, December 8-10.

Tickets, priced from €10-€25, are on sale at www.thehelix.ie.