Zelda Hurd

                 Junior Reporter

Hi, I'm Zelda, and you have entered the Zelda Zone.

How was your holiday? Mine was great!

When you dream, do you dream about what you want to be when you grow up?

Well, I have met a girl who has made her dream. Her name is Rochelle an she's a ballet dancer. She has been dancing since she was 2 years old.

Rochelle is 10 and very graceful.

Rochelle is a cool girl. The coolest thing about her is she gets to be herself.

I went behind the scenes before her performance in the Nutcracker at Chandler Center for the Arts.

I met her friends and they all seemed very nice. They made me feel like I belonged.  I watched them get their makeup on. Then they went into another room to get into their costumes.

Rochelle had three parts in this season's Nutcracker. She also has danced in Cinderella, Peter Pan and with the Phoenix Symphony.

She has made two DVDs about ballet dancing.

She makes it look fun to dance.

If you see these, I hope it encourages you to follow your dreams.

This interview has encouraged me to follow mine.

I'll talk to you later!

If you have any unusual interests, hobbies or collections you would like to share, please

e-mail me at kidscelebrate@cox.net.

Why do you like ballet?

I always loved the graceful moves...In the summer I do jazz and character and modern, but I like ballet better because it's a natural thing.

Do your feet ever hurt?

Sometimes, if I have a long rehearsal, but it doesn't matter because I enjoy what I'm doing.

How often do you practice?

I go to ballet classes all the time, four to five times a week.

Do you have favorite shoes?

Point shoes hurt the most, but I enjoy them the most. Even though it hurts really bad, you can do more turns

and more graceful things with

them. It's really pretty.

What is the best

part?

I like performing

in front of people

and showing them

what I can do.

And I like being

in costume.

Do you ever get

nervous?

Sometimes before

a show. But when I get

on stage I'm not nervous

anymore.

Do you have any advice for kids who

might want to learn ballet?

Ballet isn't as hard as it looks. It's more

fun. I think it's better for your body than

anything else.

                 What else do you like to do?

                            Crafts, make messes,

                        play piano and collect

                           Pirates of the Carribbean.

                                      Is there anything

                               you would like our

                                readers to know

                                 about you?

                                        I act like a

                                goofball when I am

                               with my friends...

                              being a goofball is

                             the key to friendship.

                          To learn more about

                       Rochelle you can visit

                   www.balletovations.com.

                      Kids Celebrate  January 2007         17