For Babadag, the anniversary season arrives at a moment she has been working toward since a child, on a path she never expected to walk. Born in Istanbul, she began ballet almost by accident \u2014 tagging along to weekend classes because her best friend had an interest in the art but didn\u2019t want to go alone. She enjoyed the mini tutus and didn\u2019t mind dancing for an hour on Saturdays, but saw her future elsewhere.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBallet wasn\u2019t on my radar at all,\u201d she said. \u201cI wanted to be a lawyer. I thought I would be a businesswoman in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Things changed when her friend decided to audition for admission to a conservatory program that would provide an education in ballet. Once again, Babadag accompanied her at the request of her friend\u2019s mother, a decision that would shape the next 20 years of her life.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHer mother asked my mother if I could go to the audition with her,\u201d Babadag recounted. \u201cIn the audition for the conservatory, there\u2019s like 10 people watching you in front of a mirror. It\u2019s kind of like a movie \u2014 exciting, but a nervous situation. My mom was like, \u2018I\u2019ll ask her,\u2019 and we said \u2018sure, we\u2019ll do that. It\u2019s fine, you know; we don\u2019t need to even be selected.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
The pair attended the audition for a transitional conservatory meant to assist students progressing to higher levels of ballet. While her friend was not selected, Babadag was asked to return and audition for the professional-level track.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey insisted, and I was like, \u2018Sure, I\u2019ll go to the audition.\u2019 Step one, I passed; step two, I passed. Then they told me, \u2018Now you should apply so you can start studying.\u2019 I was still not sure,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She agreed to try it for one year. \u201cAs soon as we started that year, within a month, I was sold and obsessed with ballet,\u201d she said, noting that her instructor \u2014 a recently retired, \u201cgorgeous-looking\u201d Polish ballet dancer \u2014 pushed her to succeed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a ballet crush on him,\u201d she said. \u201cI wanted to be the best in the class because he would like me. It\u2019s really funny \u2014 he\u2019s in Poland right now and we still talk. He\u2019s like my second father, and that\u2019s how I got started in ballet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ballet eventually carried her from Istanbul University State Conservatory to the Ballett-Akademie in Munich, where she trained in the Vaganova technique under former stars of the Bavarian State Ballet. She performed in gala productions across Europe, in cities including Dresden, Rome and Cairo, before moving to the United States in 2014.<\/p>\n
Her American career took her to Oklahoma, Florida and later Indiana before she joined Ballet San Antonio as a soloist in 2021, debuting with the company as the Sugar Plum Fairy \u2014 the same role she will perform this season in her first Nutcracker as a principal dancer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still can\u2019t believe it,\u201d she said. \u201cThis has been my dream for such a long time. Becoming a principal is such a hard thing to achieve \u2014 I think maybe 2% of people can have this rank in the world because there are only a few contracts. It happened after four seasons with Ballet San Antonio. When I heard that, I was just crying. I was like, \u2018I can\u2019t believe this is happening. Turkey\u2019s gonna lose it over there.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
The news traveled quickly back home; Turkish media covered her promotion over the summer, opening the doors for dancers to dream bigger.<\/p>\n
\u201cTurkey is a huge country, and it\u2019s a huge thing for them that this is happening. Everybody in my country knows me because, you know, I\u2019m the very first one and now kids are growing up and wanting to be like me because I made it so far away from home in such a big country with so much competition,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel like I have to keep pushing to my best to be able to show them a good example so they can also push their dreams and make anything happen.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
That sense of responsibility follows her onto the stage, especially in a season defined by the company\u2019s history. She has danced Ballet San Antonio\u2019s Nutcracker for five years, and she says the troupe\u2019s rendition of the classic \u2014 choreographed by former professional dancers and San Antonio locals Haley Henderson Smith and Easton Smith \u2014 still surprises her with its unique blend of humor, theatrics and physical difficulty.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/20241205_BalletSanAntonio_TheNutcracker_CastB_byEmWatson-1145.jpg\")
Ballet San Antonio soloists Aiden Moss, left, and Alexa Horwath in The Nutcracker in 2024. Credit: Courtesy \/ Em Watson and Ballet San Antonio<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very unique because I find it has a very good sense of humor in the ballet. I love the rat scene \u2014 when they fight, it\u2019s hilarious,\u201d she said as she reflected on what makes San Antonio\u2019s Nutcracker different from others she has performed. \u201cIn this version, you can\u2019t keep any of your energy in. You have to take the risk and go for it onstage \u2014 like, \u2018Let\u2019s see what happens.\u2019 There are flips, there are crazy lifts happening to the music. It\u2019s very impressive for the audience and for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Nutcracker remains a highlight of her season not just because of the tradition, but because of who shares the stage with her. More than 100 local children rotate through the cast each year, many of them students at Ballet San Antonio School, where Babadag also teaches. Watching them experience the ballet from the inside, she said, is one of the most rewarding parts of performing the show.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey look up to us, and you can see they\u2019re a little shy and mesmerized, and they want to do our roles in the future,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s such a good feeling because I had those moments when I was younger \u2014 I was idolizing people \u2014 and now I\u2019m in that position and our school kids are looking up to me. That\u2019s precious. I can\u2019t even explain it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those feelings extend beyond the children in the cast. Each December, as part of Ballet San Antonio\u2019s Send the Kids to the Ballet program, thousands of students from local schools fill the Tobin Center for a special morning performance of the ballet\u2019s second act. For many, it is the first time they have ever seen live theater.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s such a beautiful event. We do the second act during the week and only schools come in and it\u2019s like first-time ballet watchers, as soon as they get in there, they\u2019re already, like mesmerized and amazed, with the theater. The Tobin Center is beautiful,\u201d Babadag said. \u201cEverybody\u2019s smiling because the kids are so cute. It\u2019s just so nice to feel them having a great time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She recalled going downtown after one of these performances, she stopped for a coffee when a group of young students approached after a Send the Kids to the Ballet performance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were like, \u2018Are you the Sugar Plum Fairy?\u2019 And I said, \u2018Yeah,\u2019 and they wanted to take a photo,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was just such a cute moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
The program\u2019s reach is one reason she believes The Nutcracker remains such a cultural touchstone. For children, she said, it becomes a memory they carry long after the holidays fade. For the company, it\u2019s a chance to reach new audiences who might never otherwise set foot in a theater.<\/p>\n
As Ballet San Antonio marks its 40th year, Babadag imagines a future where the company expands outreach efforts and performs not only at the Tobin Center, but in public spaces and neighborhoods across the city. \u201cI would love to do ballet in the park, something free for the community,\u201d she said. \u201cThat would be beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n
For now, her focus is on opening weekend \u2014 on stepping before thousands of children and families, some watching their first ballet, others returning to a tradition that has anchored the company for decades. It\u2019s a full-circle moment that blends her personal journey with the organization\u2019s.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope people come and see Nutcracker, because they\u2019re going to have so much fun,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s not just ballet, there\u2019s a sense of humor, there\u2019s excitement, you know, all the choreography, all the characters in the second act, it\u2019s very exciting and a big show for the holiday season.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n