A Fairy Tale for Raffaella | Stories | Notre Dame Magazine

A group of ballet dancers appear suspended in midair as they leap during a rehearsal for the Raffaella ballet. Below them a quote reads, “It’s very much about growing and becoming a better person in a lot of ways, the journey of life.”

Raffaella, Aloft

by John Nagy ’00M.A.

A dancer whose too-short life was a prayer to share the beauty of her art performs something of a healing miracle in death: inspiring a rare new, original ballet in her memory.

‘Beauty Will Save the World’

by Zach Dudka

Any true work of art is a gift. This one comes from the hearts of two loving parents.

Dancer Leah McFadden curtsies as Raffaella with other cast members around her during a dress rehearsal for the ballet in which McFadden is the title character

Stories Unspoken that Steal Your Heart

by John Nagy ’00M.A.

Beauty arises from the union of movement and music in ballet, the art form where Raffaella Stroik expressed herself with such stirring resonance.