THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 12, 1995 TAG: 9504120049
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines
IN MANY RESPECTS, Kathy Sawyer's own life reads like a Cinderella story.
For years she watched other ballerinas upstage her. She worried that she'd always be overlooked and was, perhaps, destined to waste away after showing so much promise as a teenager.
There were critical instructors and years of hard work.
But come Saturday, all eyes at Norfolk's Chrysler Hall will be fixed on the Elizabeth City, N.C., native as she and Prince Charming dance the night away with the Louisville Ballet and Virginia Symphony in Prokofiev's ``Cinderella.''
And the Prince Charming across the stage will be her husband, David Goud.
``It's really hard to say that my life's been like a fairy tale because it's been hard work,'' Sawyer, 30, said in a recent telephone interview from her home in Louisville, Ky.
``But I guess the part that would seem like a fairy tale to everyone is the fact that I have made it as a professional ballet dancer. That's like every little girl's dream.''
Sawyer's own dreams began when she was about 8 and decided to give dancing a serious shot.
She studied for years under the late Gene Hammett, who weekly traveled to North Carolina to teach Tidewater School of Ballet classes. Later Sawyer and her sister, Patti, began commuting daily to Norfolk for more classes.
Hammett eventually convinced Sawyer and her family to move to Virginia so Kathy and Patti, who now runs a dance studio in Washington, N.C., could receive more intensive instruction.
A year later Kathy Sawyer was accepted to the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, where she graduated in 1982.
There were summer programs at the School of American Ballet in New York. A year with the Joffrey Ballet. Then came the San Antonio Ballet and a side stint in Scotland.
In 1984, after several years of barely keeping her feet firmly on the ground, Sawyer joined the Louisville Ballet, and there she has stayed.
``Most people move around a lot, but I always kept growing here and kept getting more and more roles,'' she said. ``So I kept staying. Then I met David here and. . . ''
David is her husband, David Goud, an Indiana native who came to Louisville straight out of Butler University and took Sawyer's hand in marriage four years ago this May.
He also plays Prince Charming during Saturday's 8 p.m. performance.
``For Kathy and I, it really helps a lot (being married) because when we are able to have eye contact, it's always sincere. We don't have to act like we're in love because we really are,'' Goud said.
The Mr. and Mrs. perform together regularly, including the last time the 30-dancer Louisville troupe - the state ballet of Kentucky - was in Norfolk to perform ``Sleeping Beauty.''
``Every time we walked on stage, they'd erupt in an applause,'' Goud, 26, said of the reception.
Most vocal among the fans was no doubt the busload that came from Elizabeth City, led by proud parents Margie and Gene Sawyer.
``I just think it's so neat to have things come full circle. This really has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience,'' Margie Sawyer said in anticipation of her daughter's first full-length starring role.
Her close-knit family is the one area where Sawyer's life differs from the fictional character she portrays. ``I've always had supersupportive parents and a happy childhood,'' she said.
When asked to describe the slender and still girlish looking Sawyer, most of her friends and family will mention the words ``late bloomer.''
``Kathy's always been the underdog,'' her husband said. ``She's finally getting to prove to a lot of people who really pushed her hard in the beginning that she can really come through.''
In the dance world, where injuries often cut careers short and age can work against you, reaching your pinnacle at age 30 is a bit rare.
But as Alun Jones, the Louisville Ballet's artistic director, explains: ``People mature at different levels, and Kathy is coming into her peak right now. I think she has several more years of dancing ahead of her.
``In the performing arts, I think it is so ridiculous to think people have reached their full maturity by 21.''
Jones came to Louisville by way of Europe and the southwestern United States. The Welshman became the ballet's artistic director in 1978 and has choreographed more than 30 ballets for Louisville and other companies.
Cinderella also will be the last performance of the season in the dance series for The Virginia Symphony, with Jeff Holland Cook conducting.
Performing for the hometown crowd will definitely keep Sawyer on her toes.
``It'll be nerve-wracking,'' she said. ``At the same time, I think I'll feel the support, too.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Ballerina Kathy Sawyer will dance the lead in Prokofiev's
``Cinderella'' on Saturday night at Chrysler Hall.
by CNB