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The chance to dance

A group of girls and boys gathered recently at Western Ballet Company in Mountain View for the Nina Novak Scholarship auditions. The kids, 6 to 12 years old, sought to win a one-year grant to study dance.

The new scholarship aims to give artistic opportunities to low-income children. "The hope is that once they're in the program, they'll just keep on going until they reach the highest levels," board member Camilla Kao said.

One of the winners was Melanie Garcia of Mountain View (number 10, pictured above). The 9-year-old seemed determined to go far indeed. "I've wanted to do ballet since I was 7," she said.