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Racheal Nye

@racheallnye

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Director of School and Studio Company
Oklahoma City Ballet
Yvonne Chouteau School
@okcballetschool @okcballet
Mother, omnist, 🌱, love is ❤️

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Yep, nailed it. Full Mythbusters episodes out now. Find part 1 and 2 wherever you get the Ballet Help Desk podcast or see links in bio.

#ballettraining #mythbusters #balletmythsdebunked #balletdancer #balletpodcast

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We’re back with part 2 of our episode on ballet myth busting. We started with this one: “there’s one body type for ballet.” We asked Peter LeBreton Merz, artistic director of Eglevsky Ballet and former director of Ballet West Academy, and Racheal Nye, director of Oklahoma City Ballet’s Yvonne Chouteau School and Studio Company, whether that’s true. They also answer your questions about competitions, training in Europe, whether big donations buy better casting and whether Vaganova is the only method that works.

Find the full interview wherever you get the Ballet Help Desk Podcast or see link in bio.

#ballettraining #balletmom #balletjourney #balletlife #balletgoals

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A big donation gets your dancer a better role. Myth or truth? Racheal Nye, director of Oklahoma City Ballet’s Yvonne Chouteau School and Studio Company, says it’s rarely that literal. But she does remember the one time a parent tried to sway her Nutcracker casting with ever increasingly nice offers of stuff. Tune is to hear more in part 2 of Myths Busted. Find the full interview wherever you get the Ballet Help Desk Podcast or see link in bio.

#balletparents #balletmom #balletdancer #nutcracker #balletlife

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Can you tell at 12 whether a dancer will make it? Racheal Nye, director of Oklahoma City Ballet’s Yvonne Chouteau School and Studio Company, says it’s easier to spot the obstacles than to pick the dancers who will succeed. Peter LeBreton Merz knows firsthand how unreliable those early calls can be. Long before he led Ballet West Academy and became artistic director of Eglevsky Ballet, he was told at 11 and 12 that ballet probably wasn’t for him.

From Part 1 of Ballet Myths, Busted. Find the full episode wherever you get the Ballet Help Desk Podcast or see link in comments.

#ballettraining #balletjourney #balletdancer #balletgoals #balletpodcast

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A lovely weekend at YAGP Minneapolis! ❤️ I’m so honored to have received 2nd place in both Pre-Competitive Classical Ballet and Contemporary at the 2027 season’s Minneapolis regional! 🥈🥈

Thank you @yagp Ms. Larissa, Mr. Gennadi, and the entire YAGP team for another beautiful opportunity to perform and grow❤️Thank you to Mr. @alexeimoskalenko Ms. @racheallnye , and the entire judging team for your recognition, encouragement, and thoughtful feedback and constructive advice to help me improve!🤗

To my amazing @morningstardance MSDA teachers— Mr. @xiaochen728 Mr. @cool_nur_ Mrs. @sherry_chenggg Ms. @wynneveryday Ms @jesswashingtonarts and Ms. Chen—thank you for guiding me every day with so much care and patience. Every step forward carries something up you’ve taught me. I couldn’t have done this without you all! 😘✨

Thank you Mrs @natalia_bashkatova for your thoughtful advice, honest feedback, and encouragement whenever I feel unsure. You help me move forward with confidence and keep working at what I love. ❤️

Thank you, Mrs. @lilyyong9981 for your unwavering belief in me and for always giving me the courage to keep going! 💕

Beyond my own performances, I loved watching the other stage performances and felt so inspired by so many wonderful dancers! Seeing old friends and making new ones made these two days even more special🙌

I’ll treasure these memories and keep working hard. Looking forward to my next @yagp and another chance to learn, grow, and improve! ✨

Thank you @thelkstudio for the stunning stage photos as always!❣️

#YAGP #YAGP2027 #YAGPMinneapolis

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We’re proud to announce that our Artistic Director, Peter LeBreton Merz, was recently featured on Ballet Help Desk with Racheal Nye, Director of Oklahoma City Ballet’s Yvonne Chouteau School and Studio Company!

🎤In Ballet Myths Busted: Blacklists, Pointe Pressure and Who Makes It | Part 1, Mr. Merz and Nye dive into topics such as whether blacklists exist, the pressure to send 10-year-olds away for the summer, get them on pointe early, and move them up a level up fast, and what they look for in a 12-year-old dancer.

🎧Listen to the full episode at www.ballethelpdesk.com.

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A wonderful start to the YAGP 2027 season! ✨

Congratulations to our dear Halina Liu on receiving 🥈 2nd Place in the Junior Classical category at the @yagp Minneapolis Semi-Finals! We are proud of your hard work and so happy to celebrate this achievement with you.

Coached by Ms. Inna Bayer @inna.bayerballet , Halina works on both technique and artistry, paying close attention to the coordination of her arms, head, and gaze. These are among the many details we nurture in every Bayer Ballet student as they learn to give movement meaning and develop as young artists.

Thank you, YAGP, for the opportunity for our students to perform, learn, and share the stage with talented young dancers. We look forward to the season ahead.

#bayerballet #ballet #balletlife

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Turn down School of American Ballet once and you’ll never get back in. Most ballet parents have heard some version of that, along with plenty of other myths. So we collected your questions and took them to Peter LeBreton Merz, artistic director of Eglevsky Ballet and former director of Ballet West Academy, as well as Racheal Nye, director of Oklahoma City Ballet’s Yvonne Chouteau School and Studio Company. We talk about whether blacklists exist, the pressure to send 10-year-olds away for the summer, get them on pointe early and move them up a level fast, and what Peter and Racheal look for in a 12-year-old. They also get into why nearly every boy is on scholarship, how much seniority counts in casting, and what a school should be able to show before it calls itself pre-professional. Find part 1 of this two-part interview wherever you get the Ballet Help Desk Podcast or see link in bio.

#ballettraining #balletbacklash #balletcompetition #balletmyths #balletjourney

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Thank you @yagp Minneapolis for a wonderful weekend! I loved the masterclasses and the opportunity to perform my new variations! Thank you @b__64 and @brandon_talbott for my contemporary solo! Thank you to my teachers @iballetstudio @tdancer98 @artem_kalistratov_ and Ms. Olga for your care and training. Thank you @vaganovainternationalprogram @alexeimoskalenko and @natalia_bashkatova and @southlandballetacademy Ms. Larissa, @savelievgennadi @mish.room @iainmackaycoach for working with me over the summer at your incredible summer programs! Thank you @summer_lily_dances for letting me rent your beautiful Esmerelda costume!❤️ Thank you to all the @yagp judges! I'm so grateful to have received 3rd place in junior classical and top 12 in junior contemporary!!! I'll keep working hard!🩵🫶🩰

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There is something so incredibly special about the master teachers, choreographers, and educators who step into these studios. They generously share their knowledge, passion and creativity with every dancer who joined us. Each one challenged and encouraged these dancers. They inspired them to see what is possible in a whole new way.

Thank you for pouring your hearts into these incredible young artists. What an extraordinary intensive filled with SO much gratitude.

We appreciate you all more than words can say! 💙✨.

@fabiolaambrosio_ @anais.chalendard @racheallnye @marjolainecazalis @alejandromendez9292 @arianni.martin1992 @gracebuckleychoreography @megangoldstein_ @brittanylents @farfallastretchmethod @victorsmalley @jacksonhafenbreadl @alejandrosruiz07

#grandpremierinvitational #gpi2026 #coreprogram #afterhours

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🗽FROM THE STUDIO TO LINCOLN CENTER | YAGP NEW YORK

One of the most special parts of the @yagp New York Gala happens long before the curtain rises at Lincoln Center.

Top winners of YAGP Regionals from around the world came together as Guest Artists, they spent the week learning and rehearsing a specially choreographed Pièce d’Occasion for the YAGP 2026 New York Galas.

What makes this experience so special is everything that happens inside the rehearsal studios.

Ms. Larissa moved constantly between studios and rehearsal rooms, watching the process unfold and connecting directly with teachers and students. Mr. Gennadi, Ms. Natalia, Ms. Rachael, Mr. Du, and the entire YAGP team were always present — guiding, encouraging, solving little things along the way, and making sure every young dancer was seen and supported.

Young dancers who had met on competition stages around the world suddenly became classmates, castmates, and friends — learning new choreography, adapting to one another, and creating something together.

And after days of rehearsing side by side, they stepped onto the stage of the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center together. 🌎✨

From competition stage, to rehearsal studio, to Lincoln Center — this is an experience that feels uniquely YAGP.

The performance may last only a few minutes, but everything that happens before the curtain rises is what makes the journey unforgettable. ❤️

@yagp
@ygp_europe
@yagp_community
@ygpjapan
@thelkstudio
@littlecorgi_studio
#YAGP #YAGP2026 #YAGPNewYorkGala #LincolnCenter BalletCommunity YoungDancer

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Opening Doors to a Bigger World 🌎🩰

Through my lens at the @yagp NY Gala, I was once again reminded that YAGP has always been about so much more than the stage.

Ms. Larissa and the entire YAGP team go to extraordinary lengths to bring together renowned directors, teachers, and artists from some of the world’s most prestigious ballet schools and companies — giving young dancers the rare opportunity to learn from them, work with them, and experience different approaches to ballet firsthand.

For these young dancers, it’s not simply another master class.

It’s a chance to see how big the ballet world truly is. To discover different styles, perspectives, and possibilities. To be inspired, to become curious, and perhaps to fall in love with ballet in an entirely new way.

Sometimes one class, one correction, or one inspiring teacher can open a door a young dancer never knew existed.

And behind my camera, those are always some of the most meaningful moments to capture — watching a whole new world begin to open in front of them. 📸✨

This is education. This is exposure. This is inspiration. This is YAGP.

#yagp #yagpnyc #yagpgala #ballet

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