Tala Sanford ‘29
A first-year at Harvard College, Tala grew up in Massachusetts, where she began dancing with South Shore Ballet Theatre at the age of 3. As part of SSBT’s pre-professional division, she took part in annual productions of The Nutcracker, performing the lead roles of Dewdrop and Sugar Plum Fairy. Also among her repertoire are Paquita, as corps de ballet; Swan Lake, as a Little Swan; Peter and the Wolf, as the Cat; and excerpts from Serenade, La Sylphide, and Napoli, set by Nilas Martins. In 2023, Tala became a company trainee with the Asian American Ballet Project, the first Asian American ballet company in the US. As a trainee, she has performed in a retelling of La Bayadère, and in Suho and the White Horse, an original piece by Michael Lowe. Tala is honored to join HBC, continuing both her ballet journey and her celebration of the diverse perspectives within this beautiful art form.