Dalia Rawson, the executive and artistic director of New Ballet in San Jose, California, recently shared her story of overcoming adversity. A sudden cancer diagnosis brought an end to her dancing career but unexpectedly paved the way for her to become a ballet company director.
On the EpochTV show “Bay Area Innovators,” Rawson reflected on her journey from being a ballet dancer to a director – fighting cancer, recovering, and venturing into artistic innovation.
Rawson has always had a passion for dancing. She recalled, “My mom said she never felt me move while she was pregnant until one time she went to see a ballet performance. She was sitting in the theater, and that’s when she felt me move for the first time.”
At around the age of ten, she would dance ballet in her living room, design choreography in notebooks, invite friends for pajama parties, and teach them to dance. That year, she spent a lot of time collecting costumes and making props.
After graduating from high school in 1992, Rawson joined the San Jose Cleveland Ballet under the artistic direction of Dennis Nahat for 16 years, performing leading roles and solo dance parts in numerous productions.
“One week I was dancing the lead in ‘The Nutcracker,’ and the next week my dancing career came to an end,” she said.
In 2006, after a performance of ‘The Nutcracker,’ Rawson experienced severe back pain and was diagnosed with stage four Hodgkin’s lymphoma, with the tumor having spread to her spine, causing a fracture. She underwent over a year of chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant, followed by a year of recovery.
“My whole life revolved around dance, starting training at the age of two. It was my deepest love and passion,” she said. “So, I went back to teaching, and unexpectedly found that I enjoyed it even more than dancing.”
She expressed her desire to choreograph a short ballet piece to director Nahat, who encouraged her to attempt larger creations. As a result, she created her first ballet production.
Rawson later became a choreographer and director at Ballet San Jose. The company declared bankruptcy in February 2016, with students already having prepaid over $250,000 in tuition fees, expecting classes to continue until August.
“We made a commitment to do our best to complete those classes because those families had paid a significant amount of money,” Rawson said. “I volunteered to teach for six months, and the team also assisted without pay. I also worked hard to raise funds.”
With the support of the local community, Rawson founded New Ballet. Unlike traditional ballet companies, the focus of this company is on classical traditions designed for the future – emphasizing the health and diversity of dancers and maintaining the power of live performances in the digital age.
“I believe our operational model is sustainable and well-suited for San Jose,” she said.
The company recently staged Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake,” with Rawson mentioning the challenging and iconic role of Odette/Odile.
Explaining further, she said, “Physically and in terms of endurance, she has to perform several variations and pas de deux; artistically, she has to interpret two completely contrasting roles.” Rawson noted that this role is a dream for many dancers, and they may only have one or two opportunities in their lifetime to experience the life of Odette/Odile on stage.
Rawson loves every aspect of ballet – from administration, technique, stage setting, and theater personnel arrangements to the process of integrating storytelling through dance and music. Her favorite moment is when all elements come together to create a complete picture.
“That is the moment of true interpersonal communication among artists. And then, when we step into the theater with a live symphony orchestra playing this incredible music, and there’s the audience – the audience is so important,” she said.