At 15 years old, Willow Benham, a freshman at Archie Williams and student at the San Francisco Ballet (SFB) School, has been dancing for 12 years. In that time, she has developed a passion for ballet and accrued hours of training. Willow danced at the Stapleton School of the Performing Arts (SSPA) for most of her life, before receiving the opportunity to train with SFB, one of the country’s most prestigious ballet schools.
SFB is widely considered among the best ballet companies in the world, and was the first non-European company to be voted “Company of the Year” by Dance Europe magazine. Their ballet school, the oldest in the U.S, has earned similar accolades, with 70 percent of the SFB company composed of SFB school alumni. Taking advantage of the opportunity to train there, Willow decided to leave SSPA and attend SFB school, where she can work with some of the most skilled dancers and teachers in the world.
Willow appreciates dance for its artistic athleticism, an appeal that helped her develop her love of the art form.
“I didn’t dance all my life, but I just instantly found that it was what I love most to do,” Willow said. “I think it’s really beautiful how much hard work you put into it, but then how it looks very effortless and beautiful on stage. I think [dance is] very feminine and elegant, but also super athletic and demanding.”
Willow discovered her passion for ballet while dancing at SSPA. For six years, she trained there under former Artistic Director Virginia Stapleton, previously a dancer with SFB, until 2022, when former New York City Ballet soloist Wilhelmina Frankfurt took the helm. When she was in seventh grade, Willow earned her first lead role as Clara in The Nutcracker. As a lead character, the role of Clara challenges the dancer to be onstage for nearly the whole ballet.
“[Being Clara] was my first time partnering, and it was a great experience. I also made a lot of new friends through that, because I connected with older dancers. I did Bon Bon [lead] the year after, [which] was fun, because I got to also work with little kids, and experience being a role model for them,” Willow said.
The following year, Willow was cast in a contemporary piece with guest artist Babatunji Johnson, a renowned choreographer and dancer from Alonzo King LINES Ballet. She credits the experience as her first foray into a more professional dance environment.
“[Johnson] definitely expects a lot out of us; he moves quickly, and you have to adapt quickly,” Willow said.
In January of 2025, Willow attended hours-long auditions every weekend in addition to her regular classes to gain the opportunity to train at a rigorous pre-professional school over the summer. Intensive programs, especially those that Willow auditioned for, are exceptionally selective, and even those who get into the summer program are very rarely invited to train with the school year-round.
That winter, SFB accepted Willow into their summer intensive program, opening the doors to her continued pre-professional training opportunities. She enjoyed her first exposure to a pre-professional ballet environment, and filled out an interest form for consideration for SFB’s year-round school. When her intensive ended, SFB accepted her into the school.
The transition from a small performing arts school like SSPA to a large company’s school can be challenging. Expectations are higher, classes are longer, and rules are stricter. Additionally, leaving behind the community of peers and faculty at SSPA left Willow in two completely new environments: high school and SFB.
“At Stapleton [there is] an amazing community, and I made so many friends. All the teachers are so nice. Leaving SSPA was really hard, because I grew up there, and everyone at Stapleton loves it so much,” Willow said. “Not going there every day after school and driving into the city was really weird at first.”
The workload in both high school and SFB are a level up from any other previous experiences. Now, Willow has more to do, and less time to do it.
“The drive takes up a lot of time, so I get home a lot later than I used to, between 9:30 and 9:45 p.m., and I still have to eat dinner and do my homework,” Willow said. “It was a hard adjustment at the start, but it’s getting easier to balance. It’s been helpful to build a routine that I can rely on and make sure that I don’t mess around and just get everything done quickly.”
Many high schoolers who do ballet at the level Willow does eventually switch to online schooling to prioritize their dance training. At SFB, this transition often occurs after Willow’s level, when dancers must begin classes in the morning and train into the late afternoon, preventing them from attending school.
“A lot of the girls in my level are already [switching to online school] because they’re planning on making that transition, but I haven’t,” Willow said. “I’m definitely interested in [dancing] professionally, but I’m also interested in going to college.”
While Willow has a promising future in the ballet world at her fingertips, she also looks forward to a rigorous academic future. Despite Willow being uncertain about her future at SFB, she is enjoying the opportunity to train at a high level while keeping her academic options open.
