From brokenness to ballet

Fifteen years ago, starting a ballet company in the Twin Cities would never have crossed Erik Sanborn's mind.

Already a grown man, he had never even seen a ballet.

Today, he is founder and artistic director of the Metropolitan Ballet and Academy, which is in its ninth season and preparing for sold-out performances of "Giselle" this weekend at Hopkins High School. Tickets are still available for a Friday dress rehearsal.

While Sanborn's brothers and father were immersed in sports, the Maple Grove native was fascinated by the arts.

Sanborn taught himself how to play the piano without pressing the keys, so as not to let his father know. He developed an interest in theater and music while remaining an athlete, becoming a gymnast.

But at age 16, Sanborn's gymnastics career came to an abrupt end: He broke his back in a car accident and was deemed nearly disabled from the injury. The once strong and muscular athlete wore a back brace for the next six years.

He never saw a ballet until he was 31. At the request of his then 4-year-old daughter Anna, he purchased tickets for a performance of the "Nutcracker" in 1996. He went with his daughter and niece.

"I cried," he said. "I was blown away by the creativity and musicality."

Ballet beginnings

After seeing the Nutcracker, Sanborn enrolled in an adult ballet class at Ballet Arts.

Ballet Arts Minnesota co-founder Bonnie Mathis, who is also principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre, called Sanborn the following day and told him she needed male dancers for a production of "Graduation Ball."

Despite having nearly no training and still experiencing severe back pain, Sanborn signed on to dance for Mathis and Lirena Branitski.

Within days, he had gone from his first taste of ballet to becoming a dancer himself.

Then something of a miracle occurred: Sanborn's back pain began to dissipate. Six months into his training, his agility and strength had returned.

"In a way, my body was resurrected through ballet," he said. He was able to share ballet with his daughter. They also painted, acted and sang together.

More tragedy

In 2000, tragedy struck again: 8-year-old Anna died in a boating accident.

"I decided that I was going to see it as a blessing that she led me to an art form that gave me hope," he said.

In 2002, he formed the Metropolitan Ballet, planning its first performances at the O'Shaughnessy Theatre at St. Catherine University in 2004, and began offering classes after founding the Academy in 2008 at its current location in Minnetonka.

When Sanborn began planning productions, he wanted to do "Giselle," considered the most sacred of the "white" ballets, but he couldn't find the talent he needed. Instead, the company performed "Romeo and Juliet" in 2002, auditioning dancers from 14 area ballet schools and pulling talent from local theaters, including the Guthrie.

Now the company has grown to 22 professionals, apprentices and trainees, and 73 students.

This weekend's productions mark the first time the company will perform "Giselle" in full. It will feature former Bolshoi Prima Ballerina Tatiana Berenova, with whom Sanborn began working in the company's first production. Berenova is now the academy's director.

He recounts his journey from brokenness to ballet and hopes to bring lasting legitimacy to the company that helped him in his metamorphosis.

"I want [the Twin Cities] to trust what I am doing and see what we are doing as a venerable experience."