BIOGRAPHY
At three, Sarah Lane knew she wanted to dance. Her mother was her first audience; their kitchen, her first stage. At four, Sarah persuaded her mother to enroll her in lessons. They picked out her first pair of ballet shoes at Payless© in Memphis, Tennessee.

Pretty and pink, the shoes instantly transformed her. She has never forgotten the magic of this moment. "This is when you become a true dancer."

Today Sarah is living her dream, dancing with America's National Ballet Company™, American Ballet Theatre™. She performs for thousands on the greatest stages from coast to coast and around the world.

In 2007 Sarah Lane was awarded the Princess Grace Award. This is an incredible honor for Sarah and for American Ballet Theatre, as these prestigious awards are given out to only a handful of the nation's most talented young artists.

INTERVIEW
Where's the best place you've ever danced?
My parents' kitchen.

If you could be reincarnated into anything, what would you come back as and why?
Me, only taller. No, maybe just as myself - the way I am.

What's the best thing about dancing?
The never-ending search; not to find yourself but to lose yourself in the moment.

What's the worst thing about dancing?
The nerves before you go on stage. The unknown outcome.

What's the best advice you've ever received?
Dance for joy.

If you ballet slippers could talk, what would they tell you?
That bunion is crowding me!

How many languages do you speak?
One, but I would love to learn Spanish. Some people speak several languages. I am in awe of them.

What's your favorite meal after a performance?
I try to eat vegetables, because you usually can't eat them before you perform. You have to end with something sweet, though, maybe a little ice cream.

What's the toughest thing about being a dancer?
Finding a balance that draws you toward artistic perfection but doesn't drag you along by self consciousness.

Tell me a little about your ballet slippers. What makes them work?
I like dancing in leather soft shoes. The most important thing is how well the shoe forms to the foot. It needs to become a part of the foot and move with it. They must make you feel like a ballerina. This is very important. Ballet is all about creating something from the inside out, but what we put on the outside sometimes inspires what comes from within.

I imagine that this is a very magical moment?
Yes. You must never lose that playful, girlish feeling - or your imagination.

What advice do you have for young dancers?
It's really important to have a reason for dancing. Take your deep significance as a person, open it up and let it dance. That is a gift for all who watch you. Never, never lose your love for it!