How Houston Ballet Academy Helped Jindallae Bernard Build the Career of Her Dreams

When Houston Ballet artistic director Stanton Welch commissioned corps de ballet member Jindallae Bernard to choreograph an original work for the company in 2022, she had been a member of the company for less than a year. The ballet—Parodie de l’histoire du ballet—premiered in December 2023 to buoyant reviews.

“I had goosebumps all over my body,” Bernard says of the performance. “It was so magical to watch.”

Bernard, named one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” in 2024, describes her 2022 promotion from apprentice into the corps as a genuine dream come true. She had begun training in Houston Ballet Academy’s Level 1 in 2010, going on to complete all eight levels in the school and attending seven of the school’s summer programs, to boot.

“Jindallae is an example of someone who’s taken advantage of all of the opportunities that we have to offer,” says Academy director Jennifer Sommers. As a summer program student, for example, she participated in the American Festival for the Arts’ choreographic collaboration, which pairs student choreographers with aspiring composers to create original works and music.

“Can you imagine being a 16- or 17-year-old choreographer and someone’s writing an original score for you?” Sommers asks. “It doesn’t usually happen until you’re an established choreographer. There’s a need for the choreographer and composer to learn each other’s languages. Being able to build those communication skills is really essential.”

The AFA collaboration began in 1997 and has fostered the development of more than 125 new creations by Houston Ballet Academy summer program students. To Bernard, the experience was like drinking from a firehose of opportunity. “Once you’ve done it, you kind of feel like you can do anything,” she says. “It’s an incredible introduction to choreography.”

As a result, Bernard felt prepared when Welch offered her the chance to choreograph for Houston Ballet. “I was already familiar with how to communicate my ideas to the costume designer and the lighting designer,” she says. “I would have been much more overwhelmed if I hadn’t already had that experience.”

Bernard also attributes her career success to the philosophy of Houston Ballet Academy’s faculty. “They pay so much attention to detail, to the basics, and at the same time, they encourage this kind of freedom,” she says. “To enjoy yourself, to breathe and relax, enjoy the movement.”

Sommers echoes Bernard’s observations. “Our faculty is really committed to ongoing education,” she says. “As a dancer, you are building your instrument and learning how to play it. By the time students leave us, they know how to keep those instruments tuned for a long and healthy career.”

In addition to the AFA collaboration, Houston Ballet Academy also partners with University of Houston’s Moores School of Music, the Chautauqua Institution, the Houston music collective Musiqa, and others. The Academy is also a Prix de Lausanne partner school and frequently supports students who submit to the competition’s choreographic award.

Choreography like Bernard’s anchors much of this community engagement. “Creation is at the center of what we do,” says Sommers. “As a dancer in the 21st century, you have to be able to embody things across the spectrum, and we’re giving dancers more experience to pull upon as they move from student to professional.”

This spectrum is as true for students involved in summer programming as it is for those attending year-round. In addition to spending summers with Houston Ballet Academy, Bernard also attended an intensive elsewhere, in 2017. “I was struck by how much more intense Houston Ballet’s program was,” she says. “There’s just a broader range of courses provided.” For example, the five-week Summer Intensive Program includes classes in ballet technique, pointe, partnering, men’s technique, repertory, coaching, variations, modern, contemporary, jazz, musical theater, character, yoga, Yamuna body rolling, Pilates, Gyrotonic, dance history, and nutrition.

As a result, students finish their training more informed about their options and empowered to pursue a career they feel passionate about, whether it’s onstage or beyond. “I have many friends that went to college and now have businesses or jobs,” Bernard says. “A lot of graduates have also transitioned toward choreography, physical therapy, athletic training, costume designing, or stage management.”

When asked about her choreographic process for Parodie de l’histoire du ballet, Bernard recalled her years at Houston Ballet Academy: “I took a lot of inspiration from my time at the Academy, even incorporating little sequences that reminded me of the teachers and classes.” Of the ballet’s debut, the Houston Chronicle wrote that the work “riffed on iconic moments of the big classics without turning mimicky,” with music that was “alive with precise emotion.” 

With such a major premiere under her belt so early, many are probably asking Bernard: What’s next? “One of the things I’ve learned in the Academy is I want to do everything,” she says. “I’ve come to see every challenge as an opportunity to grow. I love dancing and performing, and as a choreographer, I have ideas for both shorter works and multiple-act story ballets. I’m ready to embrace any opportunity that comes my way.”

If you’re interested in studying at Houston Ballet Academy this summer, register for the Summer Intensive Program audition tour here.