A determined dancer

At just 10 years old, Hannah French already has performed in a lead role with professional ballerinas many years her senior. Though she’s a little shy in person, it all melts away when her feet touch the stage.

“Once I get onstage, I’m not that nervous,” Hannah said.

Hannah lives in Hollywood with her father, attorney Courtney French, and mother, Judge Elisabeth French, as well as her younger siblings George and Rachel. She’s had ballet shoes on her feet since she was 3 years old.

“We introduced her to a lot of different things,” Elisabeth French said, including soccer, gymnastics and volleyball. “We didn’t push her toward any of them. We just exposed her to them and let her pick. And she picked ballet.”

When asked why she prefers ballet, Hannah keeps it simple: “I just like it.” She takes lessons at Alabama Ballet, and this past winter she had a unique honor: leading the children’s cast in George Balanchine’s “The Nutcracker” in the lead role, Marie.

Hannah had auditioned before and played small roles in the past before landing the lead. Grace Anli, a dancer in her fourth season with the Alabama Ballet who helps teach the community children’s cast, said she can remember Hannah’s first audition and how she has progressed.

“There’s something about her that’s very engaging, and she’s very bright,” Anli said.

It was also noteworthy that Hannah was only the second African-American dancer ever to land the role of Marie in the Alabama Ballet’s production.

“Out of so many Maries, I can’t tell you how many were African-American. But I can tell you it’s a very small percentage,” Elisabeth French said. “I think just exposure to the arts is less common with minority populations than it is otherwise.”

In some ways, Elisabeth French said race can affect her daughter’s ballet experience. But the lessons she learns are the same as any parent would want to teach their young ballerina.

“I think she has fewer role models, and so I think she has to look for role models and use her imagination more to understand that it’s also possible for her,” Elisabeth French said. “We try to instill enough confidence in her and let her know that you can do anything you want to do, as long as you work hard.”

And work hard she did. After being cast as Marie, Hannah spent six days a week in rehearsal for about three months. This included one-on-one instruction with Anli, who had performed the George Balanchine production of “The Nutcracker” herself while growing up in Pennsylvania. Anli said one of the hardest parts of playing Marie is that it’s not just about dancing. Hannah had to act, too, and remember to always keep in character while on stage.

“Our eyes are always on her,” Anli said. “It’s a lot of responsibility to take on, and it’s a lot to think about.”

That pressure hit its peak in one scene each night where Hannah danced all by herself.

“It was emotional just watching her by herself onstage, leading the cast of children and just the responsibility,” Elisabeth French said.

When she watched Hannah perform, Anli said it brought back memories of her own performance as a young Marie.

“She really blossomed, and when I saw her on stage for the first time, she just came to life and exceeded my expectations,” Anli said. “That’s something Hannah’s always going to have and cherish … It was a beautiful moment.”

Now that “The Nutcracker” is behind them, Elisabeth French said her daughter is taking a breather for a few months to focus on school and friends after the intensity of performing with the Alabama Ballet. But Hannah is planning on summer intensive training, and her face lights up when she talks about auditioning again for this year’s “Nutcracker.”

Hannah said she would like to dance professionally someday, and both Anli and her mother noted that she has the determination that will take her far.

“I think she’s very driven for a 10-year-old,” Elisabeth French said. “I tried to convince her to play volleyball because I played volleyball in college, and I tried to convince her to do that because it would be a lot of fun for me to be the scorekeeper. She can’t be persuaded off of ballet.”