Andrew Bartee lives in two worlds. His days start at Everett High School, where he’s a 16-year-old sophomore taking English, French, algebra, chemistry and world history.
After early release at 1 p.m., he catches a bus at the Everett Station. The bus takes him to Seattle, where his exceptional talent is being recognized and nourished.
Andrew is a standout student in the Pacific Northwest Ballet School. He’s well on his way to a promising dance career.
“He is very uniquely gifted,” said Bruce Wells, the teen’s main ballet teacher at PNB. “I have every faith Andrew will have a beautiful dance career. He has physical gifts and an artistic temperament. He’s remarkable.”
Recently, a PNB dancer’s unlucky break became Andrew’s good fortune. Andrew danced in all eight performances of “Carmina Burana,” part of PNB’s Celebrate Seattle Festival.
He’d been rehearsing as an understudy to company dancer Taurean Green. When Green injured his hand, Andrew took over the part.
The Celebrate Seattle Festival, which ran April 5-15, won a stellar review from New York Times dance critic Alastair Macaulay, who wrote: “And glow was what the company did throughout this festival.”
That’s heady stuff for a boy whose ballet training began with an Everett Parks and Recreation summer class at Forest Park’s Floral Hall. “It was 10-year-old Andrew and about eight 4-year-old girls,” said Andrew’s mother, Suzan Bartee.
Andrew is the eldest of four Bartee boys. Brothers Alex, 14; Aaron, 13; and Adam, 11; all prefer baseball, soccer or wrestling to the arts.
From early on, Suzan and Mat Bartee saw other interests in Andrew. They had him try T-ball in kindergarten. “He loved being on a team, but baseball was not his thing,” Suzan Bartee said. They tried soccer and violin lessons; neither was for Andrew.
In ballet, Andrew found his perfect fit.
After the parks program, he took ballet from Debbie Wiens’ Reflections School of Dance in Snohomish. By the time he was 12, the teacher told him she’d taught him all she could.
He auditioned for the Pacific Northwest Ballet School, and since 2003 has been moving through its ranks. He’ll start this fall in the PNB school’s professional division. First, he’ll have a dancer’s dream summer.
He’ll attend a five-week summer program at the School of American Ballet, the official school of the New York City Ballet. Then, he’ll leave for a three-week exchange program at the Royal Danish Ballet in Copenhagen.
This fall, his professional training in Seattle will keep him out of school in Everett. Andrew will be enrolled in the Insight School of Washington, a new online public high school.
Andrew has no regrets about leaving Everett High.
“I don’t feel like I’m going to miss anything,” he said. “I’ve found my thing, and I want to pursue it.”
At Pacific Northwest Ballet, the lanky redhead is on a fast track. The company’s artistic director, Peter Boal, has nominated him for a Princess Grace Foundation Award, which would bring prestige and scholarship money.
Already, Andrew has a full tuition scholarship at PNB, said Wendy Casper, assistant to the school’s administrative director. “He’s such a nice boy, with a great family,” Casper said.
“I expect great things for Andrew. I could not be more proud,” said Wells, his PNB teacher. Wells, 57, was 15 when he moved from his native Tacoma to study with the New York City Ballet.
“It’s so wonderful, Andrew is on that journey I was able to take,” Wells said.
In the Bartee household, Andrew’s mom is already missing him. He doesn’t get much time at home, but there’s evidence he’s been there.
“Our laundry has all kinds of things in it, tights to baseball stuff,” she said.
All that laundry is a kind of object lesson.
“The thing we didn’t realize when we had these kids, they’re all so different,” Suzan Bartee said. “They’re all unique. We’ve taught them to be who you are.”
Columnist Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460 or muhlsteinjulie@heraldnet.com
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