Dance Student Spotlight: Constanza Medina Salcedo

My name is Constanza Medina Salcedo, and I am 12 years old. I live in Aguascalientes, México, and my studio is Ballet Clásico Aguascalientes BCA.

@constanza.ballerina

Can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.

I started studying ballet when I was almost 3 years old in my kindergarten, once a week.
When I entered elementary school, my parents looked for where I could take classes, but there were not many options in my city, so I continued taking only 1 class a week.
It was not until I was 7 that I went to my first contest with my recently sprained foot, and I won first place!
At 7 and a half years old, I went to my second contest and won first place and a scholarship to Lizt Alfonso Dance Cuba, which I attended in the summer of 2017. It was one of the most wonderful experiences I have ever had!
From there, I went to several contests where I obtained first place. In 2019 I went to the National Children's and Youth Classical Dance Contest, in which I obtained first place and 2 scholarships. One of them to participate in the semifinal of the Youth America Grand Prix ( YAGP), which was in 2019 in Orizaba, Mexico. There I obtained the pass to the final of the YAGP, which would be in April 2020, but it was canceled due to the pandemic.
However, in May 2021 I was able to go to the final of the YAGP, where I was in the Top 12 of classical, and I got a scholarship to study at the Alberta Ballet School in Canada.
In June 2021, I went to the World Ballet Competition (WBC), where I got third place and three summer scholarships for different ballet schools.
Right now, I am preparing to attend the YAGP semifinal that will be at the end of October in Orizaba, Mexico.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?

No, it has not been easy. But it has been worth all the effort, sleeplessness, hurt, frustrations, etc. Because that way, we grow more as people, and we learn to value things.

What personal limitations if any did you go through in your young career?

My height might have been a limitation.

How do you conquer negative talk?

I conquer negative talk with positive thoughts.

What is your favorite quote?

"Was proposed and achieved." - Author Unknown

So, what’s next? Any big plans?

I want to continue preparing and studying to be able to join a dance company and achieve my dreams of being a professional dancer.