Today we're speaking with Michele Wiles, a soloist with American Ballet Theatre who has been catching the eyes of the critics, received the Princess Grace Award in 1999 and is steadily attracting a loyal following of enthusiastic fans.

Finis: Michele, I've known you since you were 14 and first appeared in class at The Broadway Dance Center, and since then your career has been going full speed ahead. Tell us what you're doing right now, and then we'll go back to the beginning.

Michele: I'm on my way to Brazil. I'm doing a Gala Performance in Rio with Marcelo Gomes and Genadi Slaviev. They're both in ABT, and I'll be dancing the pas de deux from Le Corsaire and Grand Pas Classique, and the third variation from the second act of Bayadere.

Finis: Oh yes, I saw you dance that variation at during the Met Season, and you were fabulous. Such ease and confidence ­- and that's what the critics said, too! Let's see, you've just come back from Japan. How did it go?

Michele: It went really well. I danced Bayadere, Push Comes to Shove, Gaite, Romeo & Juliet. The audience really liked us. I had a really good performance the last night -­ while doing the variation I was able to do my fondu relevé and keep the balance while changing poses. Kevin (McKenzie) the director of ABT, said "Did you get stuck?"

Finis: Ha! That's the kind of problems all dancers wish they had! Let's talk about the spring season at the Met. What were your high points?

Michele: The first one was when I danced one of the three Odalisques in Corsaire. Actually, I wasn't slated to perform it, I was an understudy, but didn't really get a chance to rehearse it due to scheduling problems. Well, the first cast dancer got injured, and so I was told two days before the opening performance that I would be dancing it. So I had just that short period of time to prepare myself.

Finis: Well, I was at the opening performance, and saw you dance, much to my surprise, because you weren't listed to do it, and believe me, you looked absolutely prepared and just sailed right through that difficult variation. And smiling beautifully, too, with such graceful arms and expressive upper body. Not to mention clean and precise foot and leg work. What else did you especially enjoy?

Michele: I danced one of the harlots in Romeo & Juliet. I loved doing it, because there's a lot of acting, and the three of us get to dance with the principal men. It's a real change of pace from wearing a tutu and pointe shoes, to wearing a huge frowsy red wig and a painted face and heels.

Finis: I also saw you do the most difficult variation from the Shades trio in the famous second act of Bayadere. That has to be one of the most difficult variations ever choreographed. So slow, and requiring so much turn-out, demi-plié and balance. And you made it look easy as pie. You looked so calm and relaxed. How did you feel while performing it?

Michele: Oh boy. The first night I was kind of nervous. It's scary, because the Met stage is so big, and we're dancing behind a scrim, and when you look out front all you see is pitch black. So to keep myself from falling over, I looked at the conductor, because he has a light, and that was the only thing I could focus on. That was for the first two diagonals. After that, it was easy, because the remainder of the variation was all jumping and bourrées.

Finis: Well, that certainly explains why we often see dancers lose their balance and fall all over the stage. What else happened during the season?

Michele: I also did Moyna, one of Myrthe's helpers in the second act of Giselle.

Finis: How did it go?

Michele: First of all, I didn't rehearse it until the day of the show. And that was for a half hour.

Finis: You're kidding! How did that happen? Weren't you cast?

Michele: Yes, I was cast one performance, but every time they rehearsed it, they rehearsed the other cast. So, the day of the show, I had a half hour rehearsal with the ballet mistress, just by myself. Luckily, I knew the part pretty well, and that night it was a success even though I never had a chance to rehearse it fully on stage with all the dancers.

Finis: Boy, you sound like the Perils of Pauline. She was the heroine of the old movie serials who at the end of every weekly chapter, was either tied to the rails with a train coming or being thrown off the cliff into a pool of crocodiles. But the next week she always saved herself and went on to new adventures.

Anyway, it seems you're headed for lots of good things with ABT, and I remember two years ago your first appearance with the Company was sitting onstage as a dummy in Coppelia. You must have been wondering then whether that was where you should be, since the summer before you had just won the Gold Medal for Juniors at Varna. I remember seeing the videos of your performances at Varna and thought you danced them better than most ballerinas I had seen. I also recall you had some teary episodes while "breaking into" the corps de ballet.

Michele: It was a transitional period for me. I had been at the Kirov Academy of Ballet for six years. I was always told things would fall into place for me right away and I would have lots of attention. But, at ABT, that was not the case. I realized that I would have to depend on myself, there would be no teachers watching over me and pushing me forward. I wouldn't be getting the kind of attention I had while studying at the Kirov.

Finis: Your first taste of real life! It seems that's the way it is everywhere. Until you become a principal dancer and can demand rehearsal time and attention, you're probably not going to get much of it. It seems there's never enough time in the big companies for the little people, and you just have to work really hard to know your parts and make sure you do what is required. Whether or not anyone pats you on the back or encourages you. And, if you survive, you end up strong and independent. Let's go back to your beginnings. When did you start dancing? Why? With whom?

Michele: I got into dancing because my Mom and my aunts danced. My Mom was a jazz dancer. She'd take me to class with her, and when I was able to walk, the teacher of my Mom's jazz class told her to enroll me, at age 2-1/2, in jazz class. My mom had dreams of me becoming a Rockette.

Finis: Well, I guess you went way past that goal! Your Mom seems a pretty happy camper to me.

Michele: I studied jazz and tap, and then when I was 7, I began taking ballet classes, to improve my jazz. When I was 10, I saw my first ballet performance at The Kennedy Center. It was Swan Lake performed by The Royal Ballet. I thought it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen, and from that day, I fell in love with ballet and had dreams of dancing the Swan Queen. That was my goal.

Finis: You're getting closer and closer. It shouldn't be too long now. I know you also competed, because those were the times when you'd be in NYC and come to my class, right? What part do you think competing played in making you the dancer you are?

Michele: It made me very comfortable on stage. It helped me with my stage presence, and it also challenged me technically.

Finis: If nothing else, you learn to do fouetté turns! Piece of cake for you, these days. You won a lot of titles, I know, and it seems to me you are one of the few of many winners in competition history to go on to prominence in a major ballet company. You were a gold medallist at Varna, and winners there have gone on to ballet stardom, so there again you were on the right track. Tell us about Varna. You performed 6 classical variations and 2 modern solo's. How did you prepare for those performances?

Michele: My coach was Vladimir Djoulhadze. He coached me for four hours every day for about four months. For the last month, we worked seven days a week.

Finis: No wonder you danced so perfectly! I was especially impressed with your slow double fouetté turn into grand rond de jambe that you did entirely on pointe. WOW! I never saw anyone do that before. That, and your piqué arabesque balance in Pacquita. You displayed absolute balances that I'd never seen in 39 years of dance viewing. So, how did you feel dancing at Varna?

Michele: Actually, I felt really relaxed because I was well rehearsed. Also, I had just done another competition in Nagoya, Japan. So I was mentally and physically prepared. I knew what to expect.

Finis: So, everything went smoothly at Varna.

Michele: Yes, except that I didn't find out when I would compete in the next round until something like 3 a.m. of the performing day. And I found I'd won the Gold at 4 a.m. and was so tired I just said "Oh, that's good" and went back to sleep. My Mom was so excited, and I just wanted to sleep.

Finis: After dancing all those variations, you must have been exhausted. OK, so how did you make the move to NYC?

Michele: I decided it was time to start looking for a company to dance with. So, I auditioned for ABT. At first, they thought I was auditioning for the summer school, because I was only 16. They asked me to audition again, and they wanted me to be an apprentice for the upcoming Met Season.

Finis: Luckily for me, you had time to do one of my videos, Classic Classes 2, the Intermediate/Advanced Turning Class. Teachers and students have enjoyed seeing your work on that video. Thanks again for doing it from all of us. So, what was the next step in your career?

Michele: After the Met Season, I was asked to join the ABT Studio Company, directed by John Meehan.

Finis: What was that like?

Michele: I thought it was a great experience. It helped me prepare myself for the main company. I got to work with different choreographers, and I was able to get used to living in New York City on my own. After a year of being with the Studio Company, I was offered a first year corps contract with ABT's main company.

Finis: And that pretty much brings us up to date. What dreams do you have for your future?

Michele: I hope to become a Principal Dancer with ABT, and would love to do the Swan Queen, Juliet, Medora (Corsaire), and Nikiya (Bayadere)

Finis: What advice do you have for dancers who are where you once were?

Michele: Stay focused on your dream. Believe in yourself. Keep working hard.