Lost and Found: Back to ballet

By Nicholas Canedo

At 3-years-old, Dominic Fortunato began dancing at the Ballet & Dance of Upstate New York studio in Syracuse, N.Y. He continued dancing until the third grade, when he quit.

“I think at that point I wasn’t really as into it as I am now and I guess after a while of not dancing I decided to come back,” said Fortunato, who’s going into his junior year at Westhill High School.

After dancing, he continued to stay active in the fine arts, performing in theatre and musical productions, and becoming a percussionist in music programs, which he still does.

However, after years of hearing from his classmates who were still in ballet about the fun they were having, and watching his cousins’ ballet recitals, Fortunato decided to return to ballet July 2012 because he missed it.

“I didn’t really do much to prepare because at that point I wasn’t really thinking about what this required physically, so I came back and I kind of worked from the bottom to where I am now,” Fortunato said.

Four months after returning to ballet, Fortunato landed the role of the Rat King in Syracuse City Ballet’s production of “The Nutcracker” last November.

While he is happy where he is now, Fortunato regrets not sticking with dance from the beginning.

“I wish I did keep dancing throughout…but I’m really glad I came back and it’s led me to new opportunities.”

One of those opportunities happened in June when he attended the New York State Summer School of the Arts in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., for four weeks. At the school, which Fortunato qualified for through an audition, he and other students received training and instruction from internationally acclaimed artists and companies such as the New York City Ballet.

Fortunato enjoys ballet compared to other forms of dance because he’s able to express himself through classical music and he enjoys watching other dancers on YouTube to inspire him to be a better dancer. While he plans to continue to dance during his final years of high school, his future with ballet beyond that is uncertain.

“I would love to do this maybe professionally some day, but I will try my best and see where these next two years take me.”