Grace in motion.

She asked
to dance.

On September 16, 2017, Grace Ramos arrived for her first ballet class in a blue leotard, holding her father’s hand. The idea was hers. Her mother, Carmen, a former professional dancer with The Washington Ballet, took her to Patricia Berrend, the teacher who had taught Carmen, too.

At Berrend Dance Centre, Runqiao and Erin Du taught Grace and helped prepare her for YAGP competitions in Toronto. Together with the school’s other instructors, they helped her build technique, expression, and the patience to stay with a correction. Each return to the studio gave her something more to work on.

Her first ABT summer intensive was online in 2020. Two years later, training in New York, she made the decision to pursue ballet professionally. “I just knew then that I wanted to become a professional dancer,” she recalls. A summer intensive at The Rock School in Philadelphia brought training with Peter Stark. Each experience added to the guidance of teachers, coaches, and physical training specialists helping her refine her craft.

By fifteen, Grace was living in New York and training at ABT’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School. Now in her second year, she continues to build her technique, explore her artistry, and learn through daily classwork. Her focus is on improving her own dancing. “And don’t be afraid to be seen trying,” she says in Grace Found Grace in the Process. The reward is still the joy of performing, and sharing that feeling with an audience.