Sasha Manuel started at age 4. Just 10 years later, she moved overseas to study with some of the best of the best, changing the narrative of brown girls in ballet.
CARMEL, Ind. — When Wilmara Manuel enrolled her daughter in ballet at age 4, she had no idea the international journey that would follow.
In just 10 years, her little girl would move overseas for five years of study with the Royal Ballet School in London.
“I say it’s like getting into every single Ivy League at the same time, it is a one-in-a-million shot,” Wilmara said.
The academic and ballet curriculum is competitive and rigorous, but the honor of training, learning, and performing with the best was an opportunity Sasha Manuel couldn’t pass up.
“I feel like I’ve worked very hard to get here,” Sasha said via Zoom as she checked in with her mom and Alyona Yakovleva, her former teacher at the …
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