Inside Dianetzy Rojas’ Dance Bag
Since joining Ballet Austin in 2021, Dianetzy Rojas has shown off her impressive extension and youthful essence in roles such as Aurora in Sleeping Beauty. This winter, she made her debut as the Sugar Plum Fairy in Stephen Mills’ The Nutcracker. Originally from Puerto Rico, Rojas was a standout student at the School of American Ballet and danced in Ballet Austin TWO for two years before joining the main company.
Rojas carries a collection of gifts and personal mementos with her every day. Even her dance bag, a tote decorated with bees and reading “Bee Happy,” is a gift, given to her by her boyfriend’s mother. “She knows I love bees,” says Rojas. “All they do for the environment, how they make honey, how they work as a team, [I love] just everything about them.”
The Goods
Book: Rojas is reading Holistic Homesteading: A Guide to a Sustainable and Regenerative Lifestyle, by Roxanne Ahern. “I’m really interested in regenerative agriculture and being sustainable,” Rojas says. “In the future, I would like to hopefully go back home [to Puerto Rico] and have my little farm and my plants, my gardens.”
Snacks and water: “I love dark chocolate, like 70 percent dark chocolate,” Rojas says. She packs a trail mix that combines chocolate with nuts and seeds, as well as peanut butter pretzels, a personal favorite.
Leotards: Rojas likes to carry extra leotards in her bag. The two pictured above have sentimental value. The purple was inherited from a friend she met at a summer intensive who has since retired from dancing. The other was a gift from her brother, when she debuted as Snow Queen in Ballet Austin’s The Nutcracker.
Heating pad: Rojas’ colorful heating pad, embroidered with flowers, is another gift from her boyfriend’s mother. “I use it on my neck or lower back if they’re hurting,” she says. “You can just put it in the microwave.”
Pointe shoes and sewing kit: Rojas stores her needles and thread in an old Spenco 2nd Skin container. “I recycle a lot of stuff,” Rojas says. “I try to do my part.”
She currently wears Freeds and likes to cut the shank “pretty high, so I can point my feet better.” She sews on elastic ribbon in a loop shape. For flat shoes, Rojas wears Só Danças, or Blochs, in either tan or pink depending on the choreography she is performing.
Cinderella bag: When Ballet Austin performed Cinderella in 2023, company artist Chelsea Marie Renner danced the titular role and gifted the cast these small decorative bags prior to her retirement that same year. “She was really a very special person, very loved by the whole company,” Rojas says. “This little bag reminds me of her.” Inside, Rojas stores her hair supplies, like pins, hair ties, and a comb.
Personal care: “For some reason, as soon as Nutcracker season starts, everyone starts coughing,” Rojas says, so she makes sure to pack cough drops. She also carries Tiger Balm for sore muscles, various lip balms and sticks, and a miniature perfume. “I like Billie Eilish’s perfume, the vanilla and cinnamon. It’s very warm.”
Beehive bag: Another nod to her environmental-mindedness is her small bag decorated with a felt beehive and bees. Inside, Rojas carries mementos from her family and home. “I have a few seashells and coral, to remind me of my island,” she says. Her mother printed and mailed her the photo of herself and Rojas’ grandmother.
The bracelet was a gift from her brother when she debuted as Aurora. “This is a really special thing because it reminds me to stay present and that everything is okay. It helps me stay grounded, so I wear it during rehearsals or just keep it with me.”
