MEDFORD, Ore.- A Medford native is being promoted to soloist at the American Ballet Theatre in New York City.
21-year-old Jake Roxander was born and raised in Medford, learning the art of Ballet at his family’s academy, Studio Roxander. Roxander joined American Ballet Theatre’s Main New York Company in 2022 and has now been promoted to one of its new soloists. He says this is a major achievement for him, especially at his age, but now he has to start working towards his next goal.
“My dream, really since I was, you know, 12-13, was to become a principal dancer,” Roxander said, “Soloist is the second highest rank but it’s, you know, in a way, it’s probably the biggest kind of leap to go from corps de ballet to soloist”.
Roxander says he’s gotten to where he is today thanks to help from his family, a lot of hard work and training, and a fair bit of good luck.
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