Como un personaje de un cuento de hadas, Evelyn Cisneros, una niña tímida, se transformó en una famosa bailarina amada mundialmente. Como la unica méxico-americana en su escuela de Huntington Beach, California, los niños se burlaban de su nacionalidad. Su madre, para ayudarla a salir de su timidez y soledad, la registró en clases de ballet. Allí desarrolló su gracia y su confianza en si misma.A los 14 anos, Evelyn dejó su casa para asistir a la Escuela de Ballet de San Francisco. En la plenitud de su adolescencia, su promesa como bailarina era reconocida. A los 18 años, llegó ser miembra del Ballet de San Francisco. Ahora, Evelyn es una de las mas destacadas bailarinas. Ella ha bailado a través del mundo y en 1982, bailó en la Casa Blanca. Evelyn aun toma tiempo para visitar a los niños latinos en las escuelas, llevandoles su mensaje de determinación.
Photojournalist's notes
Evelyn had already been photographed for the cover of the book "Gifted Woman" by Howard Schatz. I was looking for a different type of photograph. I walked into a rehearsal at the San Francisco Ballet. It appeared to be more of a workout than a rehearsal, after a while Evelyn came over to me and asked if I could wait a while until she finished the rehearsal and promised that it wouldn’t be long. She came back perspiring and her hair falling into her eyes apologizing for the delay. She said that she would be right back after cleaning up. I said "no wait, this is the shot that I want." I had to explain, "you weren’t born a ballerina, you didn’t make it here solely because of your talent, you’re here because of your work ethic. I want kids, who see you perform and say 'I want to be like Evelyn', to also understand the tremendous amount of work that goes into each and every performance." With that, she immediately posed for the photo-shoot.