Nathan Nirschl has fond memories of May 9, 2010. “That is when I started taking dancing,” the Puyallup High School junior said. Involved in the musical theater for years, Nirschl performed in several ASTRA productions and at the Tacoma Musical Playhouse in Tacoma. His first performance was on the ASTRA stage in “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” when he was 6.

When he started to take a class at Elite School of Dance in Puyallup, Nirschl’s mom, Grace, said, “The teachers and the owners were turning their heads and talking about this young man who was doing pretty well.”

Elite needed another male dancer for its G-Force competitive dance team and they convinced Nathan to audition.

“From then on,” Grace said, “he ate, slept and drank dance.”

Nathan did his homework. He studied everything about dance that he could get his hands on. He learned about terminology and profiles of past dancers.

“He was hungry for all information about dancing,” Grace said.

When he auditioned, he immediately won a spot as an apprentice.

Heidi Gamlieli, owner of Elite School of Dance, said she has been in business for 25 years and has never seen a dancer of Nathan’s age with such determination and talent.

“He was coming in every day the studio was open, asking if there was a free room to use for his stretching and dancing,” she said.

Elite awarded Nathan a scholarship to the studio, allowing him to come on a daily basis to take classes. He often arrives at 4 p.m. to stretch and warm up, and he takes classes until 9 p.m.

“He truly had a flame inside of him that was wanting to ignite,” Gamlieli said.

Nathan’s choreographer, Rian Creighton, agrees. Creighton, a teacher at Elite School of Dance, graduated from Cornish College of the Arts in 2008 with a degree in fine arts.

Creighton attended Elite School of Dance when she was young, and she was a member of G-Force. Nathan caught her attention about two years ago.

Nathan’s mom talked to Creighton about his tryout for G-Force, and she said, “Just let him audition and see what happens.”

“The potential for him is unbelievable because his work ethic is so high,” Creighton said. “He is the hardest worker I’ve ever met in my life. He never gives up and is always practicing.”

Nathan said he just loves to perform.

“I like to think about people having fun watching,” he said.

Two weeks ago, he performed in Portland, Ore., at the New York City Dance Alliance auditions and won a senior outstanding dancer award. That earned him a scholarship for tuition at the National Convention, which will be held in New York, where he will attend master classes from renowned choreographers.

“My biggest aspiration is to attend Juilliard,” Nathan said. “I love ballet and modern dance, which is more free-form but has a ballet structure. I like the discipline and technical form that ballet offers.”

Nathan said he used to get some flak from friends about being in ballet, but now he says they just call him “the ballet guy.” He’s also a good student: Nathan has a grade-point average above 3.0.

Gamlieli said Nathan has grown into an incredible dancer and has inspired many of his peers and instructors.

“His work ethic is beyond any student we have ever had,” she said.

Creighton added that there is no limit to what Nathan can accomplish in the future.

“He is only 17 and has been dancing two years,” she said. “Compared to people who have been dancing their whole lives, it is amazing what he has accomplished.”

Nathan’s daily schedule is rigorous. He gets up at 6:50 a.m. and rarely goes to bed before midnight. He studies in a café in downtown Puyallup after school for a few hours before he rushes to Elite for classes.

When he gets home, he hits the books again until he goes to bed.

Nathan said he tries to stay level-headed but confident about his future.

“I am going to Juilliard,” he said emphatically. “There is no other option for me than dancing. I have no backup plan.”

Joan Cronk is a freelance reporter for the Herald. To learn how you can contribute to your community newspaper, call Editor Brian McLean at 253-841-2481, ext. 310, or email brian.mclean@puyallupherald.com.