DON KOHLBAUER / Union-Tribune
Eleanore Griffith has inspired people in her ballet class with her dedication and strength.
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Petite and poised, with her delicate feet covered in pink ballet slippers, her black practice clothes wrapped around her tiny waist, Eleanore Griffith looks like she has been dancing all her life.
The 70-year-old began taking classes at the Ballet Arte Academy of Classical Ballet in Solana Beach just four years ago. She will perform in the party scene at the school's production of "The Nutcracker" next Saturday and Sunday.
Griffith's childhood dream to become a dancer was snubbed as quickly as it was awakened.
As a fifth-grader in Illinois, she first witnessed ballet when a sixth-grader at her school was invited to perform a dance with which she had won a state competition.
"I sat there just enamored with it," Griffith said. "I still remember, she was just like a pencil. Tall, very thin, and she did it all en pointe. The girl lived in the neighborhood. I was so enthralled, I would sit on her front steps and hope I would see her."
But "that was the beginning and the end." Griffith's family did not have money to invest in her learning the arts. It was not until many decades later that she pursued her dream.
DATEBOOK
Ballet Arte Academy of Classical Ballet's "The Nutcracker"
2 and 7 p.m. next Saturday and 2 and 6 p.m. next Sunday; David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre; 4126 Executive Drive, La Jolla; (858) 259-5505 or (858) 362-1348; $17 to $27; www.balletarte.com
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At 18, she married, had a child and eventually became a widow. Years later, she remarried and moved to California with her husband, Harold, a physician. The couple live in La Jolla. It was during a call for a fundraising drive that Griffith learned of the adult ballet classes in Solana Beach.
Now, Griffith lives and breathes ballet.
"My day, as I always say, starts when I walk through the doors," Griffith said, pointing to the studio entrance.
More than her dancing, Griffith has inspired people in her class with her dedication and strength in the face of adversity.
One year ago, Griffith was diagnosed with colon cancer. Dancing became her source of inspiration as she battled the disease, and her fellow students and teacher, Julie Kenyon, became family. Her doctors told her she would be able to dance through the chemotherapy, and she said that saved her.
"I was hooked up to pumps on the Monday and Tuesday, but the minute they unhooked me I was back on the dance floor. Being able to come in here was what got me through those 24 weeks."
DON KOHLBAUER / Union-Tribune
Cancer survivor Eleanore Griffith, 70, will be performing in the party scene of "The Nutcracker" next weekend.
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Although her pirouettes became a bit wobbly and the treatment made her frail, dancing gave her a sense of stability.
It has now been a year since the treatment, and Griffith dances seven days a week. She takes classes Monday through Wednesday evenings, Thursday morning and evening, Friday night, Saturday morning and now practices Sundays as well during rehearsals for the upcoming production of "The Nutcracker."
Her cancer is in stage three, and she is optimistic about the future.
"I have every reason to hope and believe I am going to have a full rest of my life," she said. "Maybe that's why I run so hard. I don't look back, or something is bound to catch up."
Griffith said she is hooked by the enrichment of ballet and the mental stimulation that the classes give her. The steps are taught by their French names, and each class teaches a different sequence of steps.
"The music keeps your mind very alert and very active," Kenyon said of the classical tunes that she plays during class. "We have 3-year-olds as well as 70-year-old dancers. It sends out a good message. There's always time to follow your passion. You're never too old."
Griffith is proof that it's never too late to pursue what will make you happiest in life.
"The main thing that I've found is never give up that dream," Griffith said. "You never know when you are going to come around that corner and be smack dab in it."
Now, whenever Griffith goes on a trip, whether it be across the country or overseas, she always makes sure to pack the most important things: her leotard and her ballet slippers.
Michelle DeCrescenzo is a community news writer for the Union-Tribune.
