A Forever Ballerina: Meet Our Owner Lara

Lara’s own journey into the enchanting world of ballet began over 35 years ago, just outside of Chicago. Enrolled into ballet classes at eight years old by her mom, she felt pretty neutral about ballet at first. But everything changed, and her love for ballet truly sparked, when she got the first opportunity to perform on stage.

At age 12, she auditioned for a children’s role in Ballet Chicago’s professional production of Hansel and Gretel. That experience opened up a new world for her. Soon after, as Ballet Chicago launched its own school, she became the inaugural student at the School of Ballet Chicago in 1995. Then also a founding member of the Ballet Chicago Studio Company shortly after.

Her teenage years were untraditional — There was no prom or homecoming, but rather special high school release programs and correspondence courses that allowed her to spend her days training and honing her craft, performing around the city, and building big dreams for what a future in ballet could be. It was also at Ballet Chicago that she met Tutu School founder, Genevieve Custer Weeks and their friendship was forged.

After earning scholarships studying at various ballet summer programs, at 17 she received a full scholarship to attend the prestigious School of American Ballet in New York City and moved from Chicago to NYC in pursuit of her next chapter of training. After two years at SAB, and a few months in Copenhagen studying with the Royal Danish Ballet, she accepted a contract to join the Carolina Ballet, based in Raleigh, North Carolina.

With dedication, finding the right guidance, and that childhood love of dance and performing, a remarkable 20-year career unfolded as a Principal Dancer with Carolina Ballet.

Over the course of Lara’s career, she had the incredible opportunity to perform over 150 roles in 120 different ballets, around the country and as far away as Europe and Asia. She was fortunate to dance a very mixed repertoire including many of the productions that inspire the Ballet Storytime curriculum at Tutu School; including leading roles in The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella, Coppelia, Romeo & Juliet, Giselle, Serenade, Rubies, A Midsummer Night’s Nights Dream and many more.

Five years before retiring from the stage, she took on a new adventure: Introducing the next generation to the joy, magic, and whimsy of ballet by opening Tutu Schools in communities around NC beginning in 2015.  

In 2016, Lara was invited as a speaker at Creative Mornings in the RDU area to speak on how her journey in the world of ballet mapped to creating magic and taking others of all ages on fantastical journeys. You can watch her talk on this, and the pillars of her ballet career, here!

In 2017, she had also taken on another equally exciting role, if not more-so: becoming a mom to her son and firstborn. After retiring from performing in 2020 she also had the joy of welcoming her daughter to her family as well. Tutu School is something that she’s had the joy of experiencing as a parent as much as as an owner. 

Outside of the studio, you can find Lara carpooling her children around Raleigh, adventuring with her family near and far, or back in the theater at the ballet—though these days, it’s from a seat in the audience!

As she approached leaving the stage—and that spark that led to her life as a ballerina—she spoke about how transitioning to a new chapter of sharing all she had to offer through Tutu School was the next right thing in this feature with Walter Magazine.

She continues to be a passionate advocate for the arts in NC and a true believer that exposure to and participation in the arts is incredibly rewarding for all ages, but especially powerful for children. 

With nearly 35 years of experience in the world of ballet, from local studios to international stages, Lara is so grateful for the honor of introducing young dancers to this Art form and never takes for granted that so many families have trusted Tutu School Cary to provide their children with a magical introduction to the world of ballet!