Spinning gracefully and leaping fearlessly, DeJear has been honing his skills with OKC Ballet for the past seven years. He is currently a trainee in its Studio Company, which performs at public outreach events. DeJear has also been successfully dancing on the competitive stage, recently qualifying for the Youth America Grand Prix finals round in New York City. We caught up with DeJear just before this notable international competition.
Q: Tell me about your introduction to ballet.
A: When I was 7, I started gymnastics, and I did that for two years. What basically happened was that to get to the next level of gymnastics, you had to pay more money. We didn’t have the money to do that, so we decided to stop [gymnastics] … Then, my mother saw a thing in a magazine that said, “Free ballet classes for boys at OKC Ballet,” so we decided to do that, because I always wanted to take ballet. When I was a little kid, I saw Swan Lake, and I loved it ever since.
Q: How old were you when you took your first classes at OKC Ballet?
A: I got here when I was 10. When I turned 9, I enrolled in — not OKC Ballet yet, but a small studio just down the street called Movement Innovations. I did that summer program where they gave me, like, ballet tap, jazz, hip-hop … I ended up liking the classical class.
Q: What is it about classical dance that appeals to you?
A: I’m a pretty shy guy. Even in classes, I’m still shy. But when I go on stage — there’s something about being on stage. It feels like nobody can judge me, because I’m performing. So I get to be, like, this different character almost. It’s really fun to perform and show off a little bit of what I can do, because I think I’m good at it.
Q: Speaking of being good, tell me about competing. What is the Youth America Grand Prix?
A: It’s not just America: There are people from Indonesia, Australia, Korea — it’s international. There are like 10,000 people. It really shows what you can do, and other companies around the world can see what you can do. That’s why it’s pretty important, because everybody sees it.
Q: What are you looking forward to most in the New York City finals?
A: I’m looking forward to performing, because it’s my favorite thing, and I really want to get onto the Lincoln Center Stage … The final final round is at Lincoln Center, which is really crazy. I’m so looking forward to it. It’s like the most well-known stage in America.
Q: Why have you stayed with ballet all these years?
A: I don’t know why. The first class I took — yeah, it was super fun … It’s also, like, sometimes I walk into this building feeling sick; my head hurts. And I literally just take class and, like, I don’t have a headache. Everything goes away. It’s like medicine.
Editor’s note: The week following this interview, DeJear competed against 84 others in the “senior male” category at the Youth America Grand Prix in New York City. He advanced to the final round and realized his dream of performing on the Lincoln Center Stage.
