Though you try and down play it, there seems to be a certain curious expectation when you are young and the relative you haven’t seen since you were under five is coming to town.

At times it happens in the office when the new employee with important responsibilities is scheduled to show to replace the previous one.

Perhaps it even happened for you when it’s time for the new James Bond to replace the retiring one.

What is the question that you often ask yourself?

Will I be impressed or disappointed?

During what Female Competition International and Femcompetitor Magazine hopes to be a cultural shift, as we search out impressive, talented and magical dancers to introduce to our dignified female submission wrestling world where we hope in the future many indoor female sports artists and competitors will perform at the same magical event, privately we ask ourselves the same above question.

Please meet young Mimi Staker.

The globally respected dance industry site ballerinaswithoutborders.com introduces her to us.

“Mimi Staker is a current New York City Ballet corps dancer. Mimi was born in Cary, North Carolina. When she was twelve, Mimi played the role of Clara in the Nutcracker. She first became in love with ballet when she was very young because it was a way for her to express herself, other than speaking.”

Why was that significant? They continue.

“As a child, Mimi had a stutter, limiting her pronunciation and speaking ability. Mimi is incredibly dedicated, and has scarified experiencing the traditional life of a teenager. During her training with School of American Ballet, she attended the Professional Children’s School and studied at Fordham University. Professional Children’s School helped Mimi balance her demanding ballet training with receiving proper education.”

We are off to a very impressive start, but it gets better.

Judith Martin, better known by the pen name Miss Manners, is an American journalist, author, and etiquette authority.

When Ms. Martin speaks, everyone listens.

She was once quoted as saying, “It’s far more impressive when others discover your good qualities without your help.”

At the tender age of 15, Mimi was cited in the October 2011 in the brochure of The School of American Ballet.

Theater Online Reviewer Ashley Griffin is very impressed with the progress of the 17 year version of Mimi. She relates, “It’s an especial delight to get to attend the prestigious School of American Ballet’s end of year workshop performance showcasing the senior students.

One dancer stood out from the moment the curtain went up. The extraordinary Mimi Staker – who performed the third variation of Divertimento No. 15 already knows what it means to be an artist at the tender age of seventeen. She was the one dancer of the evening who seemed to never have an ounce of fear. Not only did she have beautiful technique, exquisite lines, and impeccable timing, she had something few dancers’ years beyond her have – a unique style, and utter confidence. Ms. Staker was instantly recognizable whenever she took the stage, and you couldn’t take your eyes off her.”

I think we would agree that she was extremely impressed.

Mimi’s star continues to rise and she came to the notice of “Strictly Ballet,” Teen Vogue’s reality web series that takes viewers inside the high-pressure lives of six students at the School of American Ballet. As often the case in dance, it is a competition to survive.

Guess who made the cut?

People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents.……Andrew Carnegie

As we move up the timeline and Mimi is 19, the New York City Ballet is very impressed and happy to have her. Regarding Mimi, they glow on their website, “She was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, and began her dance training at the age of four at the Cary Ballet Conservatory under Suzanne Laliberte-Thomas and Rossana Nesta Gahagan.

She received additional training at the Raleigh School of Ballet under Mary LeGere. She studied at the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of New York City Ballet, during the 2008 and 2011 summer courses before enrolling as a full-time student during the 2011 winter term. Ms. Staker became an apprentice with NYCB in November 2013 and joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet in November 2014.”

As is our custom, let’s travel to the village that raised Mimi.

Mimi earned her first start at Cary Ballet.

Cary is the third largest municipality in The Triangle after Raleigh and Durham. The town’s population was 135,234 as of the 2010 census (an increase of 43.1% since 2000), making it the largest town and seventh largest municipality statewide.

Cary is often considered one of the safest major cities in the US, due to its extremely low crime rate.

Cary’s reputation as a community for affluent transplants from outside the South has led to humorous backronyms for its name such as “Concentrated Area of Relocated Yankees.”

Data from the 2000 Census shows 29.2% of Cary residents are native to North Carolina. 55.2% were born in other states. Additionally, 15.6% of the town’s population were born outside the United States.

Though many have moved in from around the globe the warm welcoming site visitraleigh.com adds the charm. “Let your senses guide you to and around Cary, North Carolina–home of renowned restaurants, endless shopping, booming business, quality entertainment and an unforgettable cultural and recreational experience. It’s no wonder that Money magazine has frequently ranked Cary one of the Best Places to Live in the country.

In fact, Cary consistently makes the honor roll among the nation’s top cities, being recognized as one of the Safest Places to Live in America, Best Places to Retire and Best Places to Raise a Family in the United States.

With its small-town atmosphere and proximity to Raleigh, The Research Triangle Park and RDU International Airport, Cary provides a variety of enjoyable and economical recreational, sports, environmental, historical and cultural arts programs and services. Indulge yourself in the enticing, natural beauty waiting on one of the 39 greenway trails open sunrise to sunset and providing more than 70 miles of recreational amenities for walking, jogging and bicycling in a natural setting.”

Wow. A very impressive girl from an extremely impressive and charming community.

What impressed us most in our research were the stunning homes located in this desirable region.

The great industry site previously mentioned, ballerinaswithoutborders.com just can’t stop talking about her. We know that she is a gorgeous young dancer, so what is she like on the inside?

“Mimi is a very humble, and beautiful dancer, who is very technical and graceful. Ballet is such a magnificent art form, and Mimi tries to not allow the competition in the company distract her, but instead push her to be a better dancer.” 

If someone has an ability to impress an audience there’s a tendency to be tempted into doing just that….Michael Sheen

You can enjoy her video interview at:

http://video.teenvogue.com/watch/strictly-ballet-life-as-a-professional-ballerina

Research indicates that Mimi is a beautiful girl with a stellar plan that clearly is working. In her video interviews she is mature and smart knowing just the right sincere things to say with praise for all of those around her. In her view, every dancer is unique.

She seems to be wise beyond her years as she is often quoted as suggesting, “Every dancer has to have a plan B.”

Good idea, but as for Mimi……..

Plan A is working extremely well.

~ ~ ~

Sources: brainyquote.com, Wikipedia, fciwomenswrestling2.com, FCI Elite Competitor, photos thank you Wikimedia Commons.

http://www.theateronline.com/reviewShow.xzc?PK=42224&Action=Review

http://www.ballerinaswithoutborders.com/inspiration.html

http://www.teenvogue.com/story/life-of-a-professional-ballerina-strictly-ballet

http://www.nycballet.com/Dancers/Dancers-Bios/Mimi-Staker.aspx

http://pointemagazine.com/news/mimi-staker-from-%E2%80%9Cstrictly-ballet%E2%80%9D-on-life-at-nycb/

http://www.pcs-nyc.org/news.cfm?page=1282

http://raleighballet.com/mimi-staker-joins-new-york-city-ballet-company/

http://balletwarrior.tumblr.com/post/123162673760/nycb-dancer-mimi-staker-photographed-by-kenneth-b

http://www.visitraleigh.com/about-raleigh-nc/cities-towns/cary/