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t m c » p u l s e | j a n / f e b 2 0 1 7 4 En Pointe With leading roles, car commercials and full days of training, Houston Ballet principal Karina González is dancing her destiny who you are. I think I struggle a little bit with that, but you should just believe in who you are because you have some- thing special. That's what people will see if you're confident in yourself." Although González still misses her family and Venezuelan culture, she has, quite simply, watched all of her dreams come true. She is the first Hispanic woman to be named a principal dancer at the Houston Ballet. She has danced coveted roles for some of the world's most sought-after choreogra- phers, traveled the world, and headlined a national ad campaign for Honda. Recently, she even married her longtime love. That was 12 years ago, and González is still living in the U.S. Up close, she is a petite power- house—every muscle perfectly sculpted, her body lithe, her posture impecca- ble. But to execute routines the way she does, to command the stage, requires more than exquisite form. "I remember when I came to this country, the first thing my mom said was, 'Try your best every single day, and be happy and enjoy what you're doing,'" González said. "And she said if I didn't enjoy it, to just come back home and be with my family. So I feel like I have done that in my career. I take ballet very seriously and I try to work as hard as I can. The other thing, though, is to just believe in W hen Karina González was 7 years old, she and her sister were given the wrong directions on their way to a folk dancing class in their home- town of Caracas, Venezuela. Instead of upbeat tempos and full, ruffled skirts, González found herself walking into a ballet audition. Almost immediately, she was granted admission to the com- petitive school. For nine years, González trained at the Gustavo Franklin Ballet School in Caracas, then joined the national ballet company upon graduation, where she danced professionally for two years. One day, when González was 17 years old, the director of the Tulsa Ballet in Oklahoma flew down to Venezuela to hold auditions. She was offered a contract. "It was one of the most difficult decisions because it was my first time leaving my family," González, now 30, recalled. Her mother and two of her three siblings still live in Venezuela, which is currently suffering from a devastating economic crisis. "We are a very close family—I have two brothers and one sister—and I'd never been away from my family at all," González said. "I kind of knew that was my only opportunity to leave the coun- try and dance in another place, and I remember going home and telling my parents that I had this opportunity to go to the States. I remember my mom and dad said, 'Okay, well this is what you want to do.'" At the time, González did not speak any English. She had never left Caracas or even been on an airplane. She remembers crying as soon as she boarded, but also the kindness of strangers who kept her from changing her mind before the flight took off. "For me, in my mind, I didn't know when I was going to get to come back and see my fam- ily," González said. "But it was great, and six months later, I went home for Christmas." I remember when I came to this country, the first thing my mom said was, 'Try your best every single day, and be happy and enjoy what you're doing.' — KARINA GONZÁLEZ Principal dancer at the Houston Ballet B y A l e x a n d r a B e c k e r Karina González and Connor Walsh, of the Houston Ballet. Credit: Taylor-Ferné Morris, courtesy of Houston Ballet. Karina González. Credit: Claire McAdams, courtesy of Houston Ballet.