Six years ago at a summer dance intensive, a guy named Isaac watched as a few girls were running through the halls, with fitted sheets pulled over their hands and feet saying that they were ‘sheet monsters’. He thought to himself, “ballet girls are weird”. Really, he thought that it looked like a blast, and secretly wanted to join them. At the same time, a girl named Janie noticed a random dude that showed up halfway through the intensive who kinda looked like a monkey, but also thought he was kinda cool. For just a week, Janie and Isaac got to know each other after discovering their shared love of Newsies and other musical theatre. But it wasn’t until a year later that they would really become friends. 


Now the year is 2020, and though Isaac is from Rome, GA and Janie is from Fort Worth, TX, they once again meet in Jackson, MS during another summer intensive with Ballet Magnificat! At the first intensive they hardly would’ve considered each other much more than an acquaintance, and it had been almost an entire year since they had talked or seen each other. But this year, after only an interaction or two, they became best friends for the rest of the intensive. Even after the intensive ended, and there were five states separating them, they would video call and have “story times” where they would tell each other all about their favorite stories and experiences. They also committed to help educate each other on their respective expertises of classical ballet (Janie’s forte) and musical theater (where Isaac’s knowledge lay). There were many FaceTimes where before they knew it, 4+ hours had passed and it was waning into the early hours of the morning. So it was hardly a surprise that when they met in Jackson for the third summer in a row, the stage was set for their relationship to grow into something new. 

Now as high-school grads, Janie and Isaac head back to Jackson for what Isaac thinks is his final summer with Ballet Magnificat! Isaac was planning to actively avoid any relationships until at least his sophomore year in college because he didn’t want to do long distance or get distracted. And for Janie, a new relationship is the farthest thing from her mind. But their best friends, Will and Maya, had other plans for the soon-to-be couple. Around the 3rd night of the intensive, while Will and Isaac probably should’ve been sleeping, they started talking about their respective love lives, or rather their respective lack therofs. That’s when Will discovered that Isaac was more than a little interested in Janie, but he never planned to pursue a relationship. He thought that long distance would stop it from ever working out, since they had diverging plans for their lives. Only a few days later in a similar but separate conversation, Maya cornered Janie with the question of ‘do you like Isaac?’ Janie said that she wasn’t sure because she hadn’t really considered it. In actuality Janie thought Isaac “must already have a girlfriend, because he was too cool not to.”, so she wouldn’t let herself consider it. So, Maya decided to ask a more reliable source to get a straight answer. Maya asked Janie’s mom, Barbara, and Barbara said “oh, yeah.” Maya immediately texted Will, and from then on, it was go time.
For the rest of the intensive, Will and Maya conspired together as the soon-to-be couple’s matchmakers. Finally, and after a lot of late night discussions between best friends, prayer, and a haircut (Isaac’s hair hadn’t been cut in years), Isaac and Janie finally decided maybe it was worth a try. They determined to keep talking when they returned to their respective states. They had even decided that the next time they were both in Jackson, they would go on a date to see how things worked out. Plans were made and their first date was a mere two months away. 

Instead, they lasted a grand total of two days. After receiving a ton of confirmation from the Lord, and a conversation with Janie’s dad, they decided to start dating on August 3rd, 2021. Because they were then living 5 states apart, their first year of the relationship was long distance, and although they both agreed that it sucked, they thought it was much better to be in the suck of long distance than to not be dating each other at all. 

After that initial year of long distance, Janie moved to Mississippi to join the Trainee program of Ballet Magnificat, which Isaac had already been enrolled in. After another year of pseudo long distance with Janie in Jackson and Isaac touring around the U.S. and internationally with Ballet Magnificats’ Events Company, they were both placed in the same company. They spent the next year growing their relationship side-by-side as they toured across several U.S. states, and even had the chance to minister to people throughout Japan! 


On December 23rd of 2024, the day after their final Christmas performance of the season, Isaac had a very special day planned, filled with their favorite activities to do together. Although the day didn’t exactly go according to plan, after a relaxing morning of reading and talking at their favorite coffee shop, and a little less relaxing afternoon of time-killing as the parents of both parties helped put everything into place, Isaac proposed to Janie at Strawberry Patch Park in Madison, MS. Janie said “I will!” and Isaac’s heart skipped about 5 beats in panic, because he had only prepared himself for “yes”, or “no”, and not “I will”. His brain was in shock at this unexpected turn of events and was momentarily unable to process the joyous reply. It took a second (although it felt like an eternity), but his brain finally caught up to him, letting him know that “I will!” meant the same thing as “yes!” :)) 

They had a small engagement party later that night with their families, matchmakers Will & Maya, and the best pupper Peanut. At 11:00 PM that same night, they took a 7 hour road trip to spend Christmas Eve with family.
Isaac and Janie have both been promoted to the professional Company of Ballet Magnificat, where they will continue sharing the gospel and dancing for their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ across America and internationally. They have set a wedding date for August 3rd 2025, a little less than 8 months after they got engaged and exactly 4 years after they initially started dating! They don’t know where exactly their story will lead in the future, but they’re so excited to let God keep directing their paths, and are so thankful that He has chosen to intertwine their separate paths into one :))