Past Scholarship Winners

Ariadne Zirlott has been dancing with Mobile Ballet since she was three years old. At the age of 12, she is beginning her second year as a member of Mobile Ballet’s Junior Company in the 2025-26 season. Most recently, Ariadne performed in the studio’s production of The Phantom of the Opera, but has also danced in the supporting cast for The Nutcracker, The Princess and the Frog, A Midsummer's Night Dream, and Sleeping Beauty. Ariadne will be attending her first Universal Ballet Competition this year, and will dance the Gulnara Act III variation from Le Corsaire.

With the support of her family, Ariadne switched from in-person learning, to virtual school, in order to attend Mobile Ballet’s daytime Academy training program. She is able to maintain her advanced placement status academically, while also training upwards of 18 hours a week. While sacrifices have been made in order to pursue her dreams of one day becoming a professional dancer, Ariadne says she welcomes the challenge and finds so much joy in her art. This scholarship will enable her to continue that training and do what she loves.

Ariadne enjoys dancing in the living room while watching movies with her family– even if one of her dogs sometimes gets in the way of her pirouettes! Her favorite moments are the ones warming-up before a theatre performance, where she's surrounded by music, the spotlight has yet to brighten the stage, and the thrill of what's to come is imminent. Her dream roles are to one day dance as Clara in The Nutcracker, and Giselle in the ballet Giselle.

Elli Smith is 13 years old, and has also been dancing with Mobile Ballet since the age of three, along with her sister. Elli joined Mobile Ballet's Junior Company in 2023, and is now a Trainee with Mobile Ballet’s 2024-2025 Company. Elli has previously had the opportunity to participate in the Alabama Dance Festival, and is excited to participate in the Universal Ballet Competition and Youth America Grand Prix this year.

Elli has danced in Mobile Ballet productions including The Nutcracker, Eclectic, Sleeping Beauty, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Sophia Astorga is 16 years old and has been dancing with Mobile Ballet for three years after moving to the area. She joined Mobile Ballet’s Junior Company in 2022, and is now a Corp member with Mobile Ballet’s 2024-2025 Company. Sophia has a profound passion for the art of ballet, and she describes ballet as her therapy. Sophia is excited to participate in Regional Dance America, Universal Ballet Competition, and Youth America Grand Prix for the first time this year.

Sophia has danced roles in Mobile Ballet productions including The Nutcracker, Eclectic, Sleeping Beauty, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and she is excited to have the opportunity to perform the lead role for an outreach performance in Mobile Ballet’s production of The Princess and the Frog in 2025.

All three of these talented young artists aspire to dance professionally, and are pursuing every training opportunity available to them in pursuit of this dream.

Anna Cate Smith is 16 years old, and has been dancing with Mobile Ballet since the age of three. She joined Mobile Ballet's Junior Company in 2021, and is now a Corp member with Mobile Ballet’s 2024-2025 Company. She has also had the opportunity to train at the School of American Ballet summer intensive in New York, and has participated in the Alabama Dance Festival, Regional Dance America, Universal Ballet Competition, and Youth America Grand Prix.

Anna Cate has danced in several Mobile Ballet productions, including the role of Clara in The Nutcracker, as well as Swan Lake, Eclectic, Sleeping Beauty, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and others.

Anna Cate Smith is 16 years old, and has been dancing with Mobile Ballet since the age of three. She joined Mobile Ballet's Junior Company in 2021, and is now a Corp member with Mobile Ballet’s 2024-2025 Company. She has also had the opportunity to train at the School of American Ballet summer intensive in New York, and has participated in the Alabama Dance Festival, Regional Dance America, Universal Ballet Competition, and Youth America Grand Prix.

Anna Cate has danced in several Mobile Ballet productions, including the role of Clara in The Nutcracker, as well as Swan Lake, Eclectic, Sleeping Beauty, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and others.

Sophie Walters, a junior at Spanish Fort High School, has been dancing with Mobile Ballet for 12 years. Sophie has performed many Corps de Ballet roles as a Company member since she was 11, as well as attending Youth America Grand Prix in 2020. During these years she has held a strong work ethic and has seen the joy dance gives others through many opportunities she has had to perform and interact with children in the community.

The scholarship will be used to fund Sophie’s training as she prepares to compete at Mobile Ballet’s inaugural appearance at Regional Dance America. She hopes to further her dance career while attending a four year university, combining her lifelong love of dance and interests in Coastal and Environmental Science.

Reggie Turner has been a member of the Mobile Ballet Company since 2018, and has performed in several productions including Giselle, The Nutcracker, and Beauty and the Beast. With Mobile Ballet, Reggie has also competed nationally at Youth America Grand Prix winning top placement in Classical and Contemporary, as well as at Dance Open America and Alabama Dance Festival.

He also dances with Sheffield’s School of the Dance where he has won top awards at regional and national competitions. Reggie is a 2021 graduate of Davidson High School in Mobile, where he has been a member of Davidson’s Kinetics Dance Company since his freshman year. A beautifully gifted and expressive dancer, Reggie is also fiercely determined and hard working.

Along with maintaining a high level of academic achievement, Reggie also puts in up to 36 hours of dance training each week. All those hours of training have paid off, as Reggie will be attending The Juilliard School in New York City in the fall with a dance scholarship, one of only 12 male and 12 female dancers accepted for the 2021-2022 school year.

Attending Juilliard is an incredible opportunity as Reggie pursues his goal of becoming a professional dancer and choreographer.

About: Eleanor has been dancing with Mobile Ballet since 2009. She has a strong work ethic (she even owns her own business creating custom-made dancewear and accessories) and a love for teaching. This scholarship allowed Eleanor to participate in a Teacher Training Intensive with American Ballet Theater - a certification that will lay the foundation for her career as a dance educator.

About: Tyrone has been a standout dancer at Mobile Ballet. He competed and earned the opportunity to participate in the 2019 Youth America Grand Prix Finals in New York City. This scholarship allowed him to take his spot in New York and compete with 1,200 dancers from all over the world.

He ranked in the top 30! In 2020, Tyrone was accepted into the dance program at Juilliard with a full scholarship.

About: Chloe has danced for 13 years and is trained in ballet, point, jazz, tap, lyrical, contemporary, modern, theatre dance, hip hop, and Latin ballroom. She was a competitive dancer for seven years and a regional and national title holder. She takes voice lessons and participates in musical theater. Her ultimate goal is to be a triple threat on broadway!