Dominic Cefalu began studying ballet when he was 8 years old. “Originally my older brother started doing it,” says Dominic, who is now age 14 and a freshman at Eureka High School in the Rockwood School District. “My younger brothers and I were in some of his shows as background characters and had so much fun. That’s when we decided to start doing ballet, too.”

Six years later, Dominic spends approximately four hours a day, five days a week studying with Saint Louis Ballet in Chesterfield. At press time, he was preparing to take the stage for his third year to perform in the ballet’s production of “The Nutcracker”—this time, he’s fulfilling the roles of Party Boy and Clown.

Dominic credits Launch for providing the flexibility he needs with his busy schedule. Currently seated for four classes at Eureka High School, he spends the remainder of the school day working on Launch classes at home before he heads to the studio. “I like the fact that you can learn at your own pace,” Dominic says. “You can always go back and see presentations and documents that the teacher posted. With Launch, you always have the information at your disposal.”