Isabella Mills is a 16-year old high school junior from San Francisco. As a full-time pre-professional ballet dancer, Isabella completes her academics through a rigorous alternative-learning environment, which allows her the flexibility to train and rehearse 30-40 hours per week through the premiere Vaganova program at City Ballet – San Francisco. Having become proficient with this method of combining academics and ballet, Isabella will continue her college education in the same way as she pursues a professional ballet career, applying her Miss California scholarships toward a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with dance certification.

 

Isabella’s stage experience began at the age of 8 in youth musical theatre productions. She has studied and received scholarships at the Boston Ballet and The Kirov Academy of Ballet, and was fortunate to study in Moscow, Russia at the world-renowned Bolshoi Ballet Academy. She is most proud to have danced the role of Snow Queen in The Nutcracker for both 2018 and 2019.

 

Although Isabella has an incredible passion for ballet, her heart rests with her family. The closeness she shares with her two older brothers was spurred on by an autism diagnosis for her brother Cameron when he was 2 years old. Being separated by only 19 months, she grew up learning the beauty of the autistic mind and champions the cause “Different, Not Less.” Isabella has spoken to schools about inclusion through the life story of Temple Grandin, challenging student to take the Pledge to Include. While she is continually about the business of chasing her dreams, at the end of the day she sees herself as a normal teenage who loves root beer and watching Grey’s Anatomy.