TULSA, Okla. — A Tulsa student is headed to the Juilliard School in New York City this fall, one of 24 accepted into the dance program this year.
Juilliard has one of the most prestigious arts programs in the world and is located in the heart of the Lincoln Center of the Performing Arts.
Eighteen-year-old Griffin Massey has been dancing since he was 8. He needed something to do after school and had searched high and low.
“I tried just about everything there ever was. Basketball, karate, baseball, tennis, golf all of it,” Massey said.
But ballet class is what stuck.
Massey never thought attending Julliard was something he'd do.
He originally wasn't interested in the school.
Then an opportunity peaked his interest.
“A few summers ago, I went to their summer intensive… and I was just like, it's something to do for three weeks of the summer… About a week or two into it I fell in love,” Massey said. “This is where I want to be, this is where I want to dance. This is where I want to go to college.”
Massey was going to high school at Booker T. Washington, but he started attending online classes for his senior year to make more time to train.
“So I'd be dancing around from about 2:15 to about 9:30/10,” he said.
That training has paid off.
You may not be able, to tell but Massey is no small presence -- he's 6 feet, 6 inches of calculated movement and technique.
It’s something he says gives him an advantage on stage.
But despite his intimidating talent and stature, this Tulsa teen is still a little nervous to head to the big Apple and dance with the best of the best.
“It's crazy in my mind that I actually get to go there... It's... Insane!” Massey said.
Massey will head to New York in August.
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