When Craig A. Kurek sent in a Picture of the Day featuring his daughter, Mary Elizabeth, in a full ballet costume on pointe next to a warbird at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2023, I just had to know more.
Mary Elizabeth, who goes by Lizzie, is a member of EAA Chapter 461 in Bolingbrook, Illinois, and a student pilot. The 15-year-old already has her call sign, “Rosie,” which was given to her by her fellow aviators in Bolingbrook.
Her goal is to become a pilot and, hopefully one day, an astronaut, says her proud father.
She’s also a ballet dancer who has been studying since she was 4 years old.
She just finished a summer intensive program with the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Connecticut and also has trained with the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago, according to her father, who notes that her home studio is MJL Ballet in Itasca, Illinois.
One morning during AirVenture, Lizzie and her mother went to the Warbird Aircraft Area to capture some photos for a ballet photo contest.
She was in full costume for the photos, which will be submitted to Youth America Grand Prix, the world’s largest non-profit international student ballet competition and scholarship program, open to dance students 9 to 19 years old.
The theme of the photo contest is to incorporate ballet into other summer activities.
“Since Lizzie’s passions are aviation and ballet, she wanted to combine the two,” Craig explains.
But something interesting happened when the ballerina made her way to the Warbirds ramp at AirVenture.
“She was quickly greeted by so many interested folks and the mood was infectious,” Craig reports. “Many warbird pilots asked if Mary Elizabeth would take a photo with their plane too, including allowing her to go on pointe on the wings of their planes!”
She soon found herself surrounded by several aviation photographers and enthusiasts who asked if they could also take her picture.
“People were just so interested in her and seeing her dance with the planes,” Craig notes. “You’ll see in the photo some of these men, all with cameras much better than ours! It was an amazing morning and such a cool bonding experience between a dancer/student pilot and her fellow aviators.”
Lizzie is now working on her ground school — “thank you Young Eagles for providing Sporty’s Learn to Fly Course for free,” Craig says, noting she also has a few hours of flying time in her logbook.
Lizzie’s love of aviation was spurred by her parents.
Her mom, Amy Reeb, was a Boeing engineer before transferring to NASA Marshall Space Flight Center to work as a liquid propulsion engineer. Her dad is a pilot who served with the U.S. Coast Guard and now flies for fun.
“Between my time with the Coast Guard and her mother literally being a rocket scientist, you could say that aviation runs very deep in our family!” Craig says.
A note to our readers: When Craig submitted the original Picture of the Day, he used the headline “Bombers and ballet.” When he sent me more photos, there were many with Lizzie photographed by a variety of warbirds. I decided to use those photos, but kept his original headline because it’s such a cool headline.
Thank you all for such kind support for Mary Elizabeth! One thing about the aviation community that has impressed me is the guidance and encouragement that everyone offers. It is beyond astonishing how this community supports each other and welcomes interested youth. We also appreciate how multifaceted this group is and how the arts are appreciated as well as the sciences.
Although Lizzie did not win the YAGP photo contest, one of her entries was featured: https://www.instagram.com/p/CvlzCesMZjf/
Thank you again to this amazing community for all you do! We cannot wait to see you all at Oshkosh next year!
Amy
What a great story! Thank you for putting this out there. I am certain we will be hearing more about Lizzie.
‘Just love it all! Congratulations, Lizzie, on two expressive careers! Many in aviation are in the arts, as well, or at least have a deep appreciation, as you quickly found out at Oshkosh! Best wishes in all you do, and thank you for putting a smile on so many faces.
Folks, the arts ( all forms ) are an important part of culture and the success of our country. Let’s nurture arts/culture in youth. It does work with aviation…they both free the spirit.
Susan Loricchio, aviator, music director, vocalist/pianist … conservatory graduate
Janice, great feel-good story, well done. Fantastic pictures of grace, control, and commitment to her art. Way to go, Lizzie, you’ll be an excellent pilot.
Please pass my comments on to Lizzie for me. My two greatest mentors, Bill Fornof and Bob Hoover polished my aviation skills. They always stressed to fly with precise smooth control and commitment. They also stressed not only to know something but understand it. One night at dinner they said, if you want to understand precise control and commitment go to a Ballet and watch the ballerinas. Their body movements are smooth and their hand, finger, and leg movements are precise demonstrating total control and commitment!
We are so proud of Mary Elizabeth here at EAA 461. Thank you for sharing her story!!
I loved both the story and the images!
What a awesome story! A first for me! Ballet with a Warbird!! Perfect!
Made my day!
Brian