I would not be surprised to learn that Evelyn Pak has superhuman abilities. She already lives what seems to be a double life, which–if the movies have taught me anything–seems to be a necessary aspect of any hero’s story. An honors student and senior at Glenbard South High School by day and a globally-recognized ballerina by night, Pak would be my first pick for Marvel’s next protagonist.
Clearly, the magic runs in the family. Evelyn’s mother, a figure skating coach accustomed to training in Olympic centers, first gauged her daughter’s reception to performing on ice and later in gymnastics. Recognizing that her talents were more suited to dance, she signed five-year-old Evelyn up for ballet lessons run by The Academy of Dance Arts (ADA). On our call, Evelyn quickly assured me that she had an unnaturally late start for a dancer. I just as quickly bit my tongue on a brewing remark surrounding my own equally busy schedule as a five-year-old, which likely included playing pretend, imagining that I myself was a star ballerina. Pak soon made up for her obvious infantile idleness, however, as she was consumed by ballet upon her first impression with the sport. “Right away, I just loved it,” Pak recalled. “It just clicked.” By age eight, Pak was dedicating her every moment to ADA in preparation for elite ballet competitions such as The Youth America Grand Prix, which sources prodigious ballerinas aged nine to 19 from all around the world to contend for thousands of dollars.
After four consecutive years of this diligence, however, Pak found herself exhausted and at risk for serious injury. All the while, Pak was adjusting to attending school in-person in District 87. Up until her freshman year at Glenbard South, Pak had been majorly homeschooled. Before Pak could truly find her rhythm at Glenbard South, however, COVID-19 closed down both her studio and high school.
In the isolating year that followed, which propelled the young dancer into a cosmic lack of pas de bourrées, Pak was forced to confront a life without dance for the first time in nine years. “I always like dancing in my basement. I couldn’t even do that,” Pak recalled. “I obviously learned a lot about myself outside of dance, but I was kind of miserable. When you love something so much, I feel like you just can’t stay separate from it. [You feel] like a part of yourself is missing.”
Pak will be the first to admit that a dancer’s life is full of unexpected roadblocks. Despite her every effort to dance safely, Pak needed her first surgery at only 10 years old. That being said, her afflictions have only reaffirmed her fondness for ballet in the long run. “I feel like those types of situations can really show how much you love something,” Pak asserted. “I was [thinking,] ‘The one thing I love most, I can’t do right now.’ That’s kind of how I knew that dance was what I wanted to do.” For Pak, every radical return to dance is a testament to her perseverance in the face of the test that is every moment spent away, and Pak has certainly been tested.
Any dancer’s schedule is demanding, but that of a high school dancer can be near impossible. “School is number one, no matter what,” Pak maintained. Still, the balance between athletics and academics is certainly a delicate one, especially since ballet presents itself as such a time-sensitive art. “Your body’s on a timer. Something that a lot of dancers have to go through is trying to keep school in their lives as much as possible,” Pak confessed. The endless pressures that accompanied coming of age made Pak’s daily routine no easier either. Although Pak’s accolades speak for themselves, the notion of pursuing a supposedly more traditional career path stood in definite contrast to her affinity for dance, especially during her senior year.
Through it all, though, Pak’s friends and family have been her guides. “It’s hard to stay connected with people at school, but [my friends have] always been extremely understanding of my schedule. We all have different schedules…but, no matter what…they would go out of their way to make sure that they could include me.” In her mother, too, Pak has found a well of resilience and encouragement. Although she was unable to pursue figure skating herself after graduating from college, Pak’s mother has ensured that her daughter can follow her dreams. “She’s always pushed me to keep going,” Pak enthused. “Every time I feel really discouraged…I always think about her. I’m always motivated by her.”
Since regaining her strength and renewing her passion for ballet, Pak has danced with two different studios: A&A Ballet, which she joined as a sophomore, and The West Suburban Ballet Conservatory (WSBC), which she has been a member of since her junior year. Her recovery process may have led her to other companies since her ADA days, but Pak still accredits the love she has for her craft to the 10 years she spent among exemplary dancers in her first studio. “ADA was…where I discovered who I was as a dancer, and they’ve definitely made me the dancer I am now,” she professed.
Thanks to those strong foundations, Pak was able to recover from this period of injury in only a year and a half. Breaking back into the world of competitive ballet, Pak quickly made a new name for herself as a champion. After winning first place in the Senior Competitive Classical division at Universal Ballet’s 2023 competition, Pak’s triumphs only grew in size and in esteem. After her victory earned her a spot in Universal Ballet’s Grand Prix Finals, Pak placed 10th and 11th in the same divisions as well as 1st and 2nd in their Ensemble/Trio division. Two years in a row, in both 2023 and 2024, Pak earned a spot in the top 12 dancers in Classical and Contemporary styles at the Youth America Grand Prix, the largest ballet competition in the world.
When she is not busy bringing home trophies, Pak is probably in rehearsals for WSBC’s annual performance of “The Nutcracker.” During the first two years of her involvement at this studio, Pak danced in featured ensemble roles. For her very last rendition of this Christmas classic this past December, though, Pak took to the stage as none other than the Sugar Plum Fairy.
“It was…a huge step up for me this year,” Pak confessed. “I was terrified.” Dancers involved in “The Nutcracker” at WSBC are in rehearsals for almost five months leading up to their performance date, which, as Pak reports, allows them plenty of time to bond. “It’s the most…uniting thing for a group of dancers. It really makes a family,” Pak professed. “Considering the short amount of time I’ve been there, the bond I have with the people there…is a tighter and closer bond than I’ve had with anybody else in my dance career. The people I dance with are people I think I’ll be friends with for the rest of my life. I’m very grateful.”
WSBC’s endless support has even brought Pak’s prospective career into focus. “I never really was told that it’s fully possible to do this as a career until I got to WSBC,” Pak admitted. Although this summer will mark the end of her time there, Pak will always remember WSBC as a safe haven full of creative joy.
This summer, Pak will be auditioning for both Oklahoma City Ballet’s trainee program and Pacific Northwest Ballet’s professional division. In anticipation of the growing pains possible during this next stage of her career, Pak reminds herself to trust in the process ahead. “A huge thing about going from a studio to a company is finding the right place, and that could take me 5, 10 years,” Pak detailed. “You just have no idea. My biggest goal is to just…find the right place for me. It’s just about taking my time and…staying true to what I want.”
Glenbard South’s Decision Day on May 1 saw swaths of seniors, vibrantly clad in their prospective university’s merchandise. As part of an annual springtime tradition at South, hundreds seniors swarmed a banner to sign their name and . Written neatly in black ink, one contribution never fails to catch my eye and lift my spirit. Next to a heart and the words “professional ballerina” lies the name Evelyn Pak. Through exemplary determination, wit and fortitude, this aspiring prima ballerina has proven that all dreams are worth chasing.
