Sasha De Sola

Born in the US to immigrant parents from Venezuela, Sasha De Sola grew up extremely shy. She had to assimilate to a new culture and language in a small town in Florida that did not have many immigrant residents at the time. Eventually, De Sola was diagnosed with selective mutism, a social anxiety disorder.

It was ballet that offered her the freedom she didn't feel in her everyday life, and from then, her love for performing and dance bloomed. De Sola fell in love with ballet for the challenge and structure, but when she auditioned for a more professional ballet school, she was not accepted. But she was not deterred by this. On the contrary: it only intensified her desire to improve and prove the school wrong.

She joined a local school and intensified her training, consequently she improved rapidly. Right around this time, de Sola’s dad lost his job and her family went through an extremely difficult financial time. They had no money for food, or transportation. She experienced acts of kindness from people she knew as well as strangers during this time, that absolutely changed her life and allowed her to be in the position she is today.

De Sola joined the San Francisco Ballet – a major company in the U.S and one of the biggest in the world – and had to learn to navigate a completely new world as a teenager. There, she sharpened her mindset, which allowed her to perform in her best way.

In 2017 she reached her dream to become Prima Ballerina of San Francisco Ballet, against all odds, and now she dedicates her time to encourage other young dancers to follow their dream.