THE BAY CITY TIMES "STEPPING OUT" April 17, 2006

She's never had a dance class outside of her hometown of Oscoda, but you'd never convince the experts of that. People from the big ballet companies in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Toronto take one look at Maggie Stalker and ask the same thing: ''Oh my God. Where did she come from?'' Scott Heinrich has encountered more than a few nonbelievers when he mentions the little dance school he runs with Giuseppe Canale. ''They say, 'You don't make dancers up there. You make lumberjacks. You make quilters,''' Heinrich says. ''It's not a place where you think of a ballerina coming from.'' It is now. Less than 10 years since Canale and Heinrich opened the doors of The Northeast Academy of Dance at the former Air Force base in Oscoda, the school has established itself as one of the premier programs of its kind. Stalker, who turns 18 in a couple of weeks, and partner Justin Estelle, 18, recently captured first place in the Youth America Grand Prix Dance Competition in Chicago. They competed first in the pas de deux (dance for two persons) from the ballet ''Ramonda'' and second in the locally performed ballet ''Cinderella.'' Their ''Cinderella'' performance qualified them to compete in the finals this week in New York City against other students from around the world, according to Heinrich. If chosen, Stalker and Estelle will have a chance to dance on stage at New York City Center with some of the biggest names in the ballet world. ''Whether or not they win, it doesn't matter,'' Heinrich said. ''It's just thrilling for them to go. This is really serious competition, and students have the chance to win scholarships to some of the top schools in the world.'' Estelle would like nothing more. He's already applying for jobs with various professional dance companies around the country and he's pondering offers from Nashville and Richmond, Va. ''Boys are going to get jobs,'' Heinrich said. ''Justin can go as far as he wants. He's going to have to work, but he's shown a huge improvement this year. He really wants to be a dancer.'' But Stalker? ''The thing with Maggie is, she just doesn't know,'' Heinrich said. ''She's just so talented in everything she does.'' Besides ballet, Stalker is one of the state's top cross-country runners. She's valedictorian of her senior class at Oscoda High School. And she was first runner-up in the Miss Iosco 2005 Pageant, performing a portion of the ''Romeo and Juliet'' ballet during the competition. She's on the track team this spring, leaping her 5-foot-2-inch frame over hurdles and running the mile. She's a student-teacher to local kindergartners. And in her spare time she attends college extension classes at Alpena Community College. She'll have 19 college credit hours completed by the time she graduates from high school. And she hasn't a clue even now where she's headed after high school and how - or even if - dance figures into her life. ''My future plans are still somewhat up in the air,'' Stalker said. ''And I'm not sure how dance will fit in. ... These are important decisions, and they'll affect the rest of my life.'' So the reluctant ballerina is taking her time. She's considering Saginaw Valley State University, which has offered her a full, four-year academic scholarship, Alma College and Indiana University, where she could audition for its dance program. She's thinking about a major in English and possibly attending law school. All of which leaves her mentors somewhat chagrined. ''This is one confused kid,'' said Heinrich. ''If she stopped dancing, I don't think she would be very happy. But if she chooses not to pursue it, what are we going to say, as teachers? ''She's touched us and she's touched a lot of people just by being who she is. And that's a lovely thing.'' Stalker has been dancing since she was 4. She's been at the Northeast Academy of Dance since it opened. ''We've had Maggie for nine years, since she was a little kid,'' Heinrich said. ''It's just wonderful to see how everyone reacts when they see this person on stage. She just has something special. I don't know what to say; there's something unique about her.'' She and Estelle, a native of North Hero, Vt., who has been at the Oscoda school for the last three years, have developed an extraordinary chemistry on stage. ''I think it's because we're really good friends,'' Stalker said. ''We communicate really well as partners, and we work really well together.'' Estelle, too, has been dancing for about as long as he can remember. ''My mom put me in a bunch of things when I was young, all kinds of sports,'' he said. ''She put me in dance when I was 3, and when I turned about 13 or 14, it just sort of became my thing.'' While he isn't shy about acknowledging ''there are other people out there who are better than me,'' Estelle still dares to dream. He'd love to dance one day with the big companies in either Boston or New York. And his teacher says, why not? ''It's been amazing how Justin has grown these past few years,'' Heinrich said. ''It's been like watching him change from a boy to a man in a really short time. We've put a lot of responsibility on him and he took it. It changed him. Maggie's the same way. Watching them grow from kids to adults has been so rewarding.'' Therein lies the joy of teaching for the Canale and Heinrich, whose 60 or so students range in age from 3-19, and whose graduates have gone on to work in dance companies in places like Los Angeles and Memphis, Tenn. ''Hey, you can make a living from this and you can be extremely happy,'' Heinrich said. ''Maybe you won't earn a six-figure salary, but it's not about that. It's about doing something that makes you happy.'' Which is what Maggie Stalker is thinking a lot about these days.