Out in the cosmos, a star goes supernova once every fifty years.  On earth, it’s even rarer to witness someone on the cusp of stardom go supernova.  Yes, there are stars who have breakout roles, or hit singles, and those who have quick ascensions, but it is uncommon to see someone who seems almost preordained for stardom. The ballet community has such a star with which to hang their hopes upon, one who is on the verge of going supernova.

Mira Nadon is a twenty-one-year-old wunderkind in every sense of the word.  Currently the youngest soloist with the New York City Ballet and containing boundless amounts of talent, she has already claimed some of the most prestigious accolades awarded in the field of dance, such as the Clive Barnes award and the coveted Princess Grace award.  With jet black hair, a delicate face crafted from fine china, and ballerina proportions that excite and tantalize ballet goers, each entrance is an event, a spectacle, and a marvel.  Every performance marks some deeply held truth that art, in whatever form, is alive.  We are witnessing a dancer on the brink of stardom.

But is it fair to pin this much hope on someone so young?  To have so many expectations for her career, could become more of a burden, and could threaten to extinguish a flame in someone so bright.  For Mira, she doesn’t focus on that.  She doesn’t concern herself with these existential implications.  Her dancing is always present, and she truly lives in each moment, simply dancing for the joy and love of it.  I was lucky enough to sit down with Mira to talk about her career, and the future she sees for herself.

Do you ever feel fearful or get stage fright when you go on stage? 

I don’t usually feel stage fright. I’ve been lucky that I’ve always felt prepared. I definitely did feel nervous during my first show as a soloist.  I was debuting in DGV, and it was either the first show of the season or it was my first show as a soloist, and I did have the thought like, ‘oh no, I’m a soloist now, and I have to deliver as a soloist.’ But then you just do it and, I don’t know, I think it’s probably best not to overthink it and not get in your head because that’s not really going to help you in the long run.

As a young and new talent, what does it feel like to be picked out and spotlighted in the company?

I guess I try not to think about it too much.  It’s really great to be recognized for your work and have your work appreciated. I’ve just tried to be myself and give everything to all my soloist parts and all my corps parts. When you’re in the corps, maybe you’re doing a couple soloist things, or maybe just understudying roles, but you really have to put all your effort into your corps de ballet work.  I think that’s how they start to notice and step in and help you stand out.  I’m grateful that they saw that and that they believed in me and have given me more opportunities.

What was your first featured role and how old were you?

My first principal role was the fairy of courage in Sleeping Beauty. I think I was 17 and was a first-year corps de ballet member.  That was probably the most nervous I’ve ever been for a show because I was like ‘oh, if I do badly, they’re never going to give me anything (laughing)’ But I did it, and that was maybe in the winter or spring season in 2019.  Then in the fall season, I did the tall girl in Rubies, which is a big Balanchine ballet, and I got good critical feedback. So that was exciting.

Do you ever feel like your ascent has happened too fast? I mean everyone wants to be a soloist, a principal, a star, but would you have wanted more time in the corps?

I feel like it’s actually been a good pace. I do think it’s so useful to be in the corps de ballet. And I wouldn’t have wanted to get promoted right away from the corps because I think you learn so much about how a company works and how to work with people. Also, in a community sense, you form so many bonds with everyone and that’s when you really become part of the company. So, I’m really glad I had all that experience. Also, from like understudying in the back, you really learn from other people.  You learn how you want to act, and maybe how you don’t want to act, and you can pick up good and bad traits from people and how to work and you can observe and learn a lot. So, I don’t think it was too fast, and I also had time to figure out who I wanted to be as an artist. 

It seems like a lot of hope has been pinned on you for the future of the company and the future of dance itself.  Is that something you feel at all?

It’s not really something I ever thought about. I just never really thought that broadly, I guess, but recently I had a conversation with my teacher from SAB Susie Pilar, where she was like, “listen, we all believe in you, me and all the other Balanchine ballerinas.  We were hoping Maria Korowski would be this person, and then she ended up doing her own thing. But we’re hoping for you to continue Balanchine’s legacy.” And I was like, ‘whoa.’

For real?

It was kind of crazy. So, I don’t really think about that a lot. I guess it’s nice that people believe in me. But as a dancer, you don’t feel like you’re super in control of your career because it’s kind of in the hands of other people. I can only do the best with what I’m given and hope that people enjoy it. I try not to dwell on it too much.

What do you what do you hope to get out your career? Do you want a long career? 

I would like to be a principal; I don’t necessarily need to be dancing till I’m in my forties. I would hope to retire while I’m still able to put on a good performance and perform at a high level. Not necessarily that you have to retire when you’re in your peak, because I think some people do that and then it’s like, oh, they could have danced for longer.  I don’t think I’ll feel the need to hold on to it for a super long time, and I don’t really know if I want to stay in the dance world, or if I’ll want to do something different. We’ll see. It might be nice to move on, but I don’t know.  Hopefully it’s far away.

And for my last question, why do you dance?

It’s just enjoyable.  You can’t really replicate the feeling of being onstage and there’s something about rehearsing something and practicing all the steps, and head movements you’re going to do.  Then when you go onstage there’s a very specific energy with the audience, and my favorite part of performing is when you’re comfortable enough to make new choices and respond to the music and the dancers around you in an organic way, and that’s exciting.  It creates a really special energy. And it’s just really very fun.