2021 AFSF Opportunity Award recipient Sponsored by Lifeway Foods
Elizabeth (Lizzi) Volpert, 12, is an ardent artist, a passionate dancer and a keen writer.
Her interest in artistic expression developed early: when she was 3 years old, inspired by the American Ballet Theater’s production of The Sleeping Beauty at the Metropolitan Opera, she asked to start attending ballet classes. Shortly thereafter, art classes followed.
Since then, Lizzi has been devoted to painting and drawing, gradually experimenting with technique and genre. In spring of 2020, she received her first commission: a cover portrait for the season brochure for Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players in New York.
When she was 6, she was admitted to the American Ballet Theater Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School where she trained in classical ballet for 4 years. After realizing that she wanted to explore other types of dance, she successfully auditioned for the acclaimed Nimbus Youth Ensemble. Currently, she is a dancer with Nimbus’s Pre-Professional division, greatly enjoying training in modern, jazz, hip hop, and ballet, as well as participating in the company’s many performances.
Lizzi lives in Hoboken, NJ, with her parents and a younger brother, Daniel. She is a student at Elysian Charter School, where she plays for the school’s basketball team. Her other interests include interior design and writing: she is finishing her first murder mystery novel, inspired by the works of Agatha Christie.