Miguel Chapman started his dance career with tap classes at Cottonwood Civic Center. When his grandmother saw he took a liking to it, she signed him up for lessons in Sedona, not knowing where his interest would lead. Now 11, Miguel is preparing for a starring role as Fritz in “The Nutcracker” and attending Master Ballet Academy in Scottsdale, which is considered one of the top ballet schools in the world.
He has been practicing technique and rehearsing seven days a week and will continue until his performances in December. It’s strenuous, athletic work, but when asked if the challenges of training ever get to him, Miguel seems unphased. He said he plans on being a professional dancer and singer when he grows up. His favorite part of performance art? “The jumps,” Miguel said.
He enjoys catching air partly because he’s good at it. The Sedona Chamber Ballet, where Miguel met some of his first instructors, is directed by Winifred Muench, a Sedona resident with a passion for the arts. She was an early supporter of Miguel and continues to be one of his biggest fans.
“It is very difficult to secure demi-soloist or soloist in a professional production and this is so exciting. It has always been the mission of the Sedona Chamber Ballet to provide children with performance opportunities at the highest level,” Muench said.
Miguel is a natural entertainer and people notice. While visiting family back in New York, Miguel found himself featured in The New York Times’ “Humans of New York” series. He also performed in an unexpected singalong with Bobby McFerrin at the Musical Instrument Museum in Scottsdale. But Miguel is still a young boy with interests in football and basketball. The demands of training haven’t changed that.
A male ballet dancer is known simply as a ballet dancer, not a ballerina or ballerino — the distinction is important to Miguel. Ballet training is considered extremely rigorous; It’s competitive and has a high attrition rate for young students. The classical Vaganova, or Russian, ballet syllabus is such an intense workout that many body building programs use the same techniques to attain the coveted muscle tone of ballet dancers.
When Miguel started dance at the age of 7, he immediately knew it was something he wanted to do. The discipline and technique came next. He’s now studying under Slawomir and Irene Wozniak, directors of the Master Ballet Academy. The Wozniaks are an internationally known dance family. Slawomir Wozniak hails from the National Opera of Warsaw. He also performed at the Bulgarian National Ballet, Greek National Ballet and has won numerous dancing awards. Miguel is one of his few male pupils in that age group. Miguel will be performing as Fritz in “The Nutcracker” later this winter in both Sedona and Phoenix. Performance dates have not been announced.
