Gloucester native Savannah George has been on her chosen career path for years, and this summer she finally got her big break. At 16, she’s the youngest female dancer recruited this season to train with the Richmond Ballet and to dance professionally in the corps de ballet.

Savannah was offered a position in the corps after a five-week summer intensive program at the School of Richmond Ballet. The program was highlighted by her performance as the lead dancer in “La Esmerelda Grand Pas des Fleurs,” a role that required that she partner with a male dancer for the first time.

“I had to work really, really hard to step up to the plate,” she said.

The ballet’s offer of a position launched Savannah into adulthood, and suddenly she finds herself living in an apartment in Richmond with three other corps members, maintaining a rigorous dance schedule, and holding down a job to help make ends meet.

Savannah said she works the 8 a.m. to noon shift at a caf&...