On pointe
Ballerina juggles dancing, school.
Troy Untalan | WITH PERMISSION
Senior Charlotte Ogden-Moore dances in Helgi Tomasson’s “Meisten’s Mozart” for the San Francisco Ballet. Ogden-Moore is currently preparing for her roles in “The Nutcracker.”
While most seniors are focusing on getting into college, Charlotte Ogden-Moore continues her commitment of more than 36 hours a week to ballet in addition to normal Senior Year obligations.
“My schedule is always busy and go, go, go,” Ogden-Moore said. “Last year, on top of preparing for my annual showcase, I had finals, and then on top of that I had the SAT. My last performance was on Friday, ending at 11 p.m., and then the very next morning I had my first SAT.”
In addition to ballet, Ogden-Moore’s schedule includes AP Biology, AP Art History and AP English Literature as well as calculus and Spanish online. Academic Counselor Betsy Pfeiffer has worked with Ogden-Moore regarding her schedule.
“It shows that Convent really wants to honor that commitment to the whole person,” Pfeiffer, who has worked with other ballerinas like Ogden-Moore, said. “We help find the right balance with their academics and what they are passionate about outside of school.”
Ogden-Moore says she has found support from her peers and teachers to succeed academically, even when missing on average five to six hours of school a day.
“The teachers have always been completely open to talking me after class and emailing at anytime,” Ogden-Moore said. “They have always backed me up and given me the extra help I need after missing class. That has been amazingly helpful.”
As much as success in academics and ballet is important to Ogden-Moore, her health precedes all, according to her mother Lori Ogden-Moore.
“My job as a mom is to enable her dreams, but at the same time make sure she stays focused ultimately on her health, which is the most important thing,” Lori Ogden-Moore said. “If I don’t pay attention to that, I don’t know who will.”
Ogden-Moore is currently preparing for her roles of a flower and snowflake in the San Francisco Ballet Company’s “The Nutcracker.”
“It is an amazing feeling to give to the audience, but it is also this joy that you are giving and receiving at the same time,” Ogden-Moore said. “Dance, to me, is just a very personal experience.”
