>> WELCOME TO "CROSSROADS."

I'M ENZO DI MAIO.

IN VERMONT, THE NAME, MCKENZIE, IS ASSOCIATED WITH FOOD.

HOTDOGS AND COLD CUTS TO BE EXACT.

FOUNDED IN 1907, THE JOHN MCKENZIE PACKING COMPANY HAS LONG BEEN THE NAME IN LOCALLY PRODUCED, CURED MEATS.

A VERITABLE DYNASTY, SPANNING GENERATIONS OF McKENZIES DEDICATED TO THE MYSTERIOUS PROCESS THAT TRANSFORMS MEAT ON THE HUFF TO MEAT ON THE TABLE.

SO IT CAME AS A BIT OF A SURPRISE WHEN THE APPARENT HEIR TO THE HOUSE OF McKENZIE TOOK TO THE STAGE TO APPLY A CAREER IN BALLET.

CURRENTLY, A FEATURED DANCER WITH THE AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE, KEVIN RECENTLY PAID A VISIT TO HIS OLD HOMETOWN WHILE IN BURLINGTON, HE CONDUCTED A MASTER CLASS, LEADING UP TO A SCHEDULED PERFORMANCE AT THE FLYNN THEATRE.

UNFORTUNATELY, A LEG INJURY FORCED A CANCELLATION OF THAT EVENT.

WE DID GET A CHANCE TO CATCH UP WITH KEVIN AT A PIVOTAL POINT IN HIS CAREER JUST LONG ENOUGH TO CONVINCE OURSELVES THAT THIS IS ONE HOMETOWN BOY WHO IS GOING ALL THE WAY.

♪ >> IT GOES BEYOND WITNESSING THE JOY OF DANCE.

IT GOES BEYOND THE ATTRACTION OF PHYSICAL PROWESS.

IT'S BEING ABLE TO GIVE OUT A PART OF YOURSELF BY THAT LANGUAGE THAT YOU HAVE WITHIN YOUR BODY.

THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND, AND THEY DO UNDERSTAND IT.

PEOPLE ARE INTIMIDATED BY THE FACT, OH, I NEVER GO TO THE BALLET AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS, BUT SOMEBODY GIVING AN HONEST, CLEAR PERFORMANCE OF AN ABSTRACT BALLET, OR A STORY BALLET, PEOPLE WILL GET SOMETHING FROM THAT.

WELL, I GUESS THAT I HAD A REAL NORMAL CHILDHOOD GROWING UP IN VERMONT.

EXCEPT FOR THAT IT WAS DOMINATED BY DANCING, ALREADY BY THE AGE OF SEVEN, I HAD A FRIEND WHO SAID, KEVIN, I WENT TO A TAP CLASS, AND IT WAS A GAS.

YOU SHOULD JOIN ME, AND I WAS A LITTLE RELUCTANT, AND IT WAS MY FATHER WHO SAID, DO IT, SO I WENT AND JOINED HIM.

I NEVER HAD ANY PROBLEMS TAKING DANCE CLASSES WHEN I WAS GROWING UP, SIMPLY BECAUSE MY FAMILY WAS SO SUPPORTIVE OF IT.

AND I DON'T KNOW IF THAT BLED DOWN TO MY FRIENDS BEING SUPPORTIVE OF IT OR NOT, BUT ALL I KNOW WAS THAT MY FATHER WAS THE ONE WHO, NUMBER ONE, PROMPTED ME TO TAKE THESE TAP LESSONS SIMPLY BECAUSE HE LOVED TAP DANCING.

IN TURN, THE ONE TO PROMPT PREME --EDME TO TAKE BALLET.

I WAS SO UNCOORDINATED, I HAD TO HOLD ONTO SOMETHING TO TAP.

SO I SAID GET ME TO THE SISTER'S BALLET CLASS AND LEARN HOW TO STAND UP, AND YOU WILL BE A GOOD TAPPER.

HOW DID HE KNOW THIS?

I DON'T KNOW.

HE'S A MAN WHO STARRED -- WHO, ACTUALLY, DIDN'T START A MEAT PACKING COMPANY.

I INHERITED IT AND TURNED IT INTO A STATEWIDE, THE JOHN MCKENZIE MEAT PACKING COMPANY.

IF YOU ARE FROM VERMONT, YOU KNOW IT.

HOW DID HE KNOW TO TELL ME TO GO TO BALLET CLASS?

I WOULD BE A GOOD TAPPER?

I DON'T KNOW.

BUT HE LOVED IT.

SO THE POINT OF THIS IS TO HOLD ONTO THE FOUR POINTS EVEN THOUGH WE ARE ALWAYS LOOKING OUT FRONT, SO WE DO ONE AND TWO AND SQUARE AND TWO AND ONE AND TWO AND SIDE.

AND ONE AND TWO AND STRAIGHT AND TWO.

>> A TEACHER, ROSEMARY O'BRIEN, WHO INCIDENTALLY TRAINED ME WITH TAP AND ACROBATICS AND BALLET LESSONS, WAS THE ONE TO RECOGNIZE WHEN I HAD MADE THE CHOICE THAT BALLW -- THAT BALLES MY PRIMARY INTEREST.

IT WAS ALWAYS SOMETHING THAT MY MOTHER AND FATHER LET MY SISTER AND I GO, BEING THE LAST OF 11, SENT US OFF TO WASHINGTON D.C.

WHERE WE ATTENDED THE SCHOOL OF BALLET.

THIS, IN TURN, I HAVE TO ALSO REFER BACK TO THE SUPPORTIVE ATMOSPHERE THAT I HAD WHILE I WAS HERE IN VERMONT.

HAD I NOT HAD THAT SUPPORT TO PURSUE WHAT MY INTEREST WAS, I CAN'T IMAGINE WHAT MY LIFE WOULD BE AT THIS POINT, AND UPON COMPLETION, GRADUATION, I WENT TO THE INTERNATIONAL BALLET COMPETITIONS IN VARNA, BULGARIA, WHICH IS EQUIVALENT TO THE OLYMPICS -- IT'S THE INTERNATIONAL BALLET COMPETITION.

♪ >> THAT'S GOOD.

AND THANK YOU.

AND I AM VERY HAPPY THAT GIVENS THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO IT, NOT TO MENTION I CAME BACK WITH A SILVER MEDAL, WHICH WAS GREAT.

CERTAINLY HELPED ME TO GET MY FIRST JOB.

I JOINED THE NATIONAL BALLET OF WASHINGTON, WHICH WAS, AT THAT POINT, MANY AFFILIATED WITH THE WASHINGTON SCHOOL OF THE BALLET, AND I WAS OF THE FIRST LOT THAT TRANSFERRED FROM THE SCHOOL TO THE COMPANY.

BUT BOY, I AM GLAD THAT I STARTED THERE.

IT DID HE WANT KEPT ME IN A TOWN WHERE I HAD VIRTUALLY GROWN UP.

GOT MY FIRST JOB THERE, MY FIRST APARTMENT.

GOT USED TO MAKING MONEY DOING SOMETHING THAT I WOULD HAVE DONE ANYWAY.

GOT OVER THE, YEAH, WHO STAGE OF BEING INDEPENDENT.

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, LEARNED THE INS AND OUTS OF WHAT THIS GLAMOROUS LIFE WAS GOING TO BE.

I THOUGHT ABOUT THAT TWO YEARS LATER WHEN I WAS ON MY ONE NIGHT STAND SEVEN WEEK TOUR.

TWO YEARS LATER, THE COMPANY FOLDED.

LACK OF FUNDS, AS DOES HAPPEN TO A LOT OF OUR ORGANIZATIONS IN THIS COUNTRY.

SO I FIGURED THIS WAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO T I THOUGHT IT WAS MAYBE TIME TO MOVE TO NEW YORK AND TEST MY WINGS AND FIND OUT WHERE I REALLY STOOD IN THE DANCE WORLD, SO OFF I WENT AND AUDITIONED FOR THE BALLET THEATRE.

I HAD THE MISFORTUNE OF TIMING TO APPEAR AT VALLEY THEATRE FOR MY AUDITION THE SAME DAY THAT BESH BUBERKOCHAV DEFECTED.

BUT ANYWAY, J ROBERT JOFFREY KNW I WAS THERE AND OFFERED ME A CONTRACT.

I DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TO AUDITION.

THE ONE THING HE TAUGHT ME ON TOP OF THE ARTISTIC WORK WAS THAT THERE ARE RACEHORSES AND THERE ARE WORK HORSES.

AND I WAS DEFINITELY NOT A WORK HORSE, AND I WAS BEING PRESENTED AS SUCH.

AND I STARTED TO BREAK DOWN, I SAID THE LAST TWO YEARS, I HAD SO MANY INJURIES IT WAS A JOKE, AND THE INJURY WAS A SEVERE FRACTURE OF MY RIGHT FOOT, THE FIFTH METH TARSAL, TO THE POINT THAT IT HAD BEEN RESTRUCTURED WITH PINS AND STUFF.

I WAS OFF FOR A LONG TIME.

I DECIDED IT WAS TIME TO LEAVE JOFFREY AND WORK, WORK AT GETTING INTO THE BALLET THEATRE, AND IF THEY DID NOT TAKE ME I WOULD HAVE TO LEAVE THE COUNTRY AND GO ELSEWHERE.

SO ABOUT SIX MONTHS AFTER THE HEALING THE TELEPHONE RINGS, AND THAT WAS MY AUDITION FOR THE BALLET THEATRE, AND IT WENT QUITE WELL, AND THEY GAVE ME A SOLOIST CONTRACT.

I AM A YOUNG MAN, BUT A DANCER HAS HIS PRIME FOR A VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.

USUALLY BETWEEN THE AGES OF 27-35.

AFTER THAT POINT, ONE STARTS TO GO DOWNHILL, AND PERSONALLY, I AM SURE THAT EMOTIONALLY THAT'S WHEN YOU GET TOGETHER, YOU HAVE HAD PLENTY OF LIFE EXPERIENCE TO BE ABLE TO THEATRICALLY GIVE SOMETHING TO THE ROLE BUT PHYSICALLY YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO SUSTAIN WHAT IT TAKES FOR YOU TO GET OUT THERE AND TELL THEM ALL YOUR LIFE EXPERIENCES.

SO IT'S A SHORT-LIVED CAREER.

THAT'S WHY I AM SAYING I AM REACHING MY PRIME.

ONCE IT IS HERE TODAY, GONE TOMORROW, AND YOU HAVE GOT TO KEEP IT MOVING.

MY FUTURE PLANS ARE -- TO BECOME THE WORLD'S GREATEST DANCER -- NO.

NO.

WHO AM I KIDDING, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I WANT TO DO.

I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH A FEW CHOREOGRAPHERS THAT COULD STRETCH ME, REALLY MAKE ME FIND OUT WHAT MAKES ME TICK.

BUT EVENTUALLY, YOU KNOW, THE DAY WILL COME RIGHT OVER MY SHOULDER, AND I WON'T BE ABLE TO DO IT, AND I HAVE THE HOPE THE GODDESS OF DANCERS WILL TOUCH MY LITTLE BRAIN, AND FILL ME WITH THE CONFIDENCE TO CREATE WORK THAT I THINK TH THAT, THAT I THK THAT I HAVE THE CAPABILITY OF DOING.

♪ ♪ >> FOR MORE CLASSIC PROGRAMS, VISIT VERMONTPBS.ORG/FROMTHEARCHIVES.