Before becoming teachers with Ballet Tucson, Danielle Corte and Sarah Maxwell danced together at the organization for many years. In their time, marked by hard work, dedication and increasing responsibilities, their shared love and passion for the art form has never waned.
“I really enjoy the collaboration process behind dance — it’s always been about community and the relationships within this beautiful art,” Corte said. “I’ve danced in the company for eight years, and I’ve taught in the school for five and I find that there’s something really rewarding about the relationships that you have in this field.”
“It’s always been the most natural way for me to express myself, I’ve always really been drawn to movement,” Maxwell said. “I really love how difficult it is, I love that there’s always something more to push for and grow — it feels like no matter how good you get or how far you advance, the finish line keeps moving.”
This year is the 40th anniversary of Ballet Tucson, marking the beginning of a new chapter for the organization. Helping to turn the page to the organization’s future, Danielle Corte and Sarah Maxwell have been appointed as a vice principal duo. Stepping into a greater level of responsibility, one of the greatest goals the new vice principals have is to work toward the overall growth of Ballet Tucson — in ways that go beyond just enrollment. Corte said that she hopes to expand the institution’s outreach, attracting more instructors and staff and helping existing teachers to develop professionally to help ensure that the training offered is of the highest quality achievable. A large part of being able to do that, Maxwell added, is the trust from the students, artistic leaders and community members. Both women consider the opportunity presented to them to be an honor and a chance to enact greater change than they could as teachers.
According to the vice principals, successful student outcomes at Ballet Tucson are defined by the institution’s ability to inspire and foster the students’ love for dance and achieve their goals in the art. To that end, one of the duo’s initiatives this year is a new pre-professional program where students can engage with high-intensity training and prepare for the rigor and demands of the professional ballet world.
While for some students, following a passion for ballet means pursuing it as a professional career or in higher education, other students have different goals. The job of the organization and its educators, Maxwell said, is to ensure students realize their dreams. Additionally, she said that many studies indicate that young people benefit from dancing in various ways beyond physical training.
For Maxwell, one of the qualities of a strong leader — be it a teacher or vice principal — is “an ever-growing curiosity.”
“Our generation learned dance very differently than this current generation and that’s going to continue to evolve and change over time,” she said. “I think having a curiosity on how I can always be a better teacher and a better leader is really important — and I think that we both have that and I think that our staff does as well.”
Corte added that dancers crave feedback, positive or negative, because it gives them an idea of what to continue doing well, or how they can improve. She said that’s a philosophy she intends to carry into her newfound leadership.
The relationship between the two vice principals dates back to their time as students with the academy and continued through their time as more seasoned performers, teachers and now administrators. Corte said the shared vice principal structure grew out of both women taking on increasing responsibilities within the school over the past several years. Being good friends, Corte and Maxwell feel that they balance each other out and bring different skills to the table that will help them be successful.
While the duo’s immediate focus is on guiding Ballet Tucson through the coming school year, their vision stretches much further into the future. They hope to continue expanding the organization’s presence in the community, strengthen its summer intensive, grow the newly launched pre-professional program and build Ballet Tucson into a nationally recognized destination for ballet training. Most of all, they said they hope to create more opportunities for students to achieve their goals — whether that means dancing professionally, pursuing higher education or simply carrying a lifelong love of ballet with them.
“I think all of the roles that we have been given over the years are dreams that Danielle and I had as students, and were things that we never really thought would happen,” Maxwell said. “We’re filled with gratitude, and we’re so excited to take all of these new opportunities, run with them and keep dreaming big.”
“I’m constantly surprised with how much this organization believes in me,” Corte said. “I think we’re constantly given opportunities to grow and I don’t take that lightly.”
