American Ballet Theatre Studio Company dancer Audrey Tovar-Dunster, 17, will attend Vail Dance Festival July 31–August 10 as a scholar in residence.
**Audrey Tovar-Dunster Rises to New Heights at Vail**
American Ballet Theatre Studio Company dancer Audrey Tovar-Dunster performs with maturity and skill beyond her years—but not beyond her experiences. At 17, she’s already built a remarkable training arc: starting at Philadelphia Ballet School at age 6, entering its trainee program at 12, and rising to the second company by 14. A year later, she moved to New York City to study at ABT’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, and joined the Studio Company after one season.
Now Tovar-Dunster is taking her talents to a new elevation. She’ll attend Colorado’s Vail Dance Festival from July 31 to August 10 as a scholar in residence—a coveted opportunity to receive mentorship and take company class alongside the festival’s star performers.
**Born to Dance**
Tovar-Dunster grew up in a ballet family. Both her mother, Samantha Dunster, and father, Eddy Tovar, were principal dancers before moving into artistic leadership. Samantha is the current artistic director of American Repertory Ballet and the Princeton Ballet School; Eddy leads the Metropolitan Ballet Theatre and Academy in Maryland. Her aunts, uncles, and grandmother also work in ballet. “I grew up surrounded by the arts, and watching my dad dance when I was little made me want to be like him,” she says. “But like a lot of dancers, I also fell in love with dancing in the living room and the way it feels to express myself in that way.”
**Going Up**
As Vail’s 2026 scholar in residence, Tovar-Dunster joins the ranks of past scholars Kayla Mak, Daniel Guzmán, and Elijah Geolina. “The dancers I know who have gone to Vail speak so highly of it, and I look up to them so much,” she says. “The environment seems so open to growth and improvement. You have these principal dancers there at the height of their career, but they’re also eager to grow, and learn, and evolve.”
She looks forward to working with the festival’s dancers, choreographers, and coaches. “I’m excited to watch and learn,” she says. Dancing also lets her travel. She hasn’t been to Vail before, but performed at high elevations with the ABT Studio Company this past year. “It’s a whole separate challenge, finding ways to rest and regroup onstage so you aren’t breathing heavily.” Colorado isn’t her only summer stop—she will also return to Italy and Ireland for Alessio Carbone’s Balletto di Venezia, which she took part in last summer.
**Keeping the Love Alive**
Offstage, Tovar-Dunster likes to journal and bake. She dreams of visiting her roommate’s home in South Africa, and her dream roles include Juliet, Manon, and Odette/Odile. “I watched Chloe Misseldine in Swan Lake recently, and it was literally like I was seeing it for the first time.” Despite a career just beginning, she wants to feel like the dancer in her living room every time she steps onstage. “The audience feels what you’re feeling,” she says. “As much as I want to evolve my technique, I want to remember why I do what I do and not lose the joy.”
Stories like Audrey’s show where disciplined, joyful training can take you—exactly the kind of growth we nurture every day at GoDance.
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She started at the Philadelphia Ballet School at age 6, joined its trainee program at 12, moved up to the second company by 14, and later refined her technique at ABT’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School in New York City. She joined the Studio Company after one season.
The scholar receives mentorship and takes company class alongside the festival’s star performing artists. Previous scholars include Kayla Mak, Daniel Guzmán, and Elijah Geolina, who each later joined ABT’s corps de ballet.
