From the basketball court to the stage, City College dance star Julian Young will leap his way from Santa Barbara to Seattle next year.

A dance major originally from Davis, Calif., Young will attend Cornish College of the Arts for Fall 2009.

Young was raised by his uncle and grandma, who were very strict about having him play basketball and baseball.

“I’ve been playing basketball since the seventh grade,” Young said.

It wasn’t until his junior year in high school that a friend introduced him to dance.

Young explained that he spent the night at his friend’s house once a week. Together they would secretly go take hip-hop dance classes in Sacramento.

He moved to Santa Barbara after graduating high school in 2004.

“The first thing (I did) when I came here was find the track coach,” said Young.

Young enrolled in a variety of Physical Education classes, including jazz, ballet and modern dance.

“I was terrified in the beginning,” Young said. “Seeing how well I was progressing, I turned (dance) into my major.”

Young was immediately taken under the wings of the dance faculty, who pushed him as a dancer every day.

“The class that scared me the most was modern, because everyone always thinks about it as interpretive dance,” he said. “The more I let myself go, the easier it became.”

As Young continued his education at City College he chose to quit track and focus on a career in dance.

He had to overcome many challenges, including being one of the very few male dancers in the program.

“The biggest challenge was that I was alone,” Young said. “It’s a stereotype that only girls dance.”

Young did not let these obstacles stop him from doing what he loves.

He continued to advance his craft as a dancer, even taking ballet classes at UCSB to better his technique.

Throughout his stay at City College, Young has danced in variety of shows, including “Rumors,” a performance that earned him high praises in The Independent and the Santa Barbara News-Press.

Young attributes much of his success as a dancer to Jennifer Seigle, Matthew Nelson and Pamela Lappen. They represent the City College dance faculty, which he said has helped him in many different ways.

“The support is terrific,” he said. “Putting me under the lights is a memory I’ll keep for a long time.”

In September, Young will be in Seattle at Cornish College, where he will continue his career as a dancer.

He said dancing at City College has taught him “to be true to the arts.”

“Stay focused. Stay committed. Never be afraid to take the leap to learn more,” Young said, adding that City College has helped him grow as a person.

As far as the future is concerned, Young hopes to still be dancing down the road.

“I’d like to see myself ready to go on stage,” he said. “I’m a performer.”