Cupertino teenager accepts position with prestigious ballet company

CUPERTINO, Calif. -- A Cupertino teenager is getting ready to take on a tremendous opportunity after graduating from one of the most prestigious ballet academies in the world.

From an early age Daniel Rubin knew what he wanted to do. "Ballet is probably one of the only arts where it's readable in all languages," he said.

Rubin dreams of becoming the next ballet superstar and spent the past three years in Moscow, Russia where he attended the prestigious Bolshoi Ballet Academy. "First I loved it, then I hated it, then I loved it again. But after a few months, I got used to the language and learned what the slang was because the slang my parents know isn't the slang that is used now," he said.

Rubin is the son of two Russian immigrants and actually made his on-stage debut as a child at Ballet San Jose.

His passion for performing has taken him all over the world for intensive training, but while he was busy at Bolshoi Ballet Academy learning theory, history and dance technique, he also made time to complete his American high school studies online. "We would have one day off, Sunday, and that's when I would go to Starbucks for the Internet and all day long I would do online school," he said.

Rubin's mother, Lana, couldn't be more proud of what her son has already accomplished. "Letting him go was not that difficult. What was difficult is just missing out on his life," she said.

The Internet and tools like Skype have helped Rubin and will continue to come in handy when he returns to Russia next week where he has accepted a one-year position with the Eifman Ballet. This is Russia's leading contemporary ballet company where he will become the first American male dancer to join its ranks.

"You can tell your own story, not necessarily how many turns you can do or how high you can jump or how you can get the audience to yell, that you can really share a part of your soul," he said.