When Post Falls native Andrew Enriquez circulated promotional posters for his Ballet Coeur d’Alene recitals in store windows in the early 2000s, he never imagined he would one day be featured on entertainment posters displayed in the Pentagon.

But that’s exactly where his humble journey to become an accomplished—albeit unlikely—ballet dancer landed him.

In 2015, Enriquez performed as a member of the U.S. Army Soldier Show in the Warner Theater in the nation’s capital. When the elite armed services dance squad toured the Pentagon, Enriquez was thrilled to see posters for the show “plastered all over.”

Enriquez’s passion for ballet earned him a coveted spot on the Soldier Show, a musical ensemble of soldiers which tours military installations across the country performing for audiences ranging from Army Chiefs of Staff to basic trainees at Fort Knox.

It’s a far cry from Enriquez’s introduction to ballet dancing in 2003 when he enrolled at North Idaho College to study journalism. With admittedly ulterior motives, he soon found himself in a dance class—and he loved it.

“I realized when I started at NIC I needed to take a physical education credit and I figured dancing would make me popular with the girls,” Enriquez says. “I thought it would be kind of funny, honestly, to be the only dude in an all-female dance class; a great way to meet girls, right?”

His decision to dance in college ultimately led him into the renowned Ballet School of Coeur d’Alene operated by the nationally regarded CeCi Kline, who nurtured Enriquez’s talents.

“CeCi has trained dancers who went on to become dance professionals, which is not easy to do,” he says. “I learned a lot of life lessons from her in addition to technique. I also learned to have a very high regard for ballerinas; honestly, ballerinas have the tenacity of a Navy Seal.”

A staff sergeant for the Idaho National Guard based in Post Falls, Enriquez, 31, is a Mandarin Chinese and French cryptologic linguist who has traveled the world. His two-year stint with the Army Soldier Show led him to faraway places including the Netherlands, Germany and Italy.

After getting his foot in the door dancing at NIC, Enriquez quickly realized there is high demand in the world of ballet for male performers. He received a full scholarship to a dance program in Long Beach California and later auditioned and was accepted into the prestigious Anaheim Ballet school where he continued to perfect his skills.

But his early years of dancing were a challenging time for Enriquez.

“I ended up temporarily homeless and I was crashing on a sofa, showering there and working in an Italian restaurant,” he says. Dancing six hours a day preparing for roles was taking a toll on Enriquez personally.

“My technique was improving but I felt like, as a person, I was suffering,” he says. So, in 2008 Enriquez joined the Idaho National Guard.

While studying French at the Language Institute in southern California in 2009, Enriquez was informed by his sergeant major that there was a talent show coming up and his unit needed a participant.

“I told him the only thing I knew how to do is dance and he said, ‘Well, that will do; sign yourself up.’” The show was on the beach—not in the slightest conducive to dancing. “I tried to weasel my way out of it,” Enriquez says.

Alas, the show must go on and Enriquez found himself performing in front of marines and sailors. “The audience was a little daunting, but when I was done there was an astonished silence and then applause,” he says.

“One of the judges came immediately over to me and handed me his card and said we represent the U.S. Army Soldier Show and we absolutely need male dancers,” Enriquez recalls.

While Enriquez, a full-time recruiter for the Idaho National Guard, hasn’t formally danced for a couple years, he says the passion is still there. Recently, he began dancing at Expressions School of Performing Arts in Post Falls.

“I went in to take a class and was very quickly recruited by the staff to perform at a recital in May,” Enriquez says. The dance school is courting him to serve as an assistant instructor—a role he is seriously considering.

Misconceptions about what makes a good soldier or a good dancer or excelling at anything you desire can hold you back, Enriquez says. His advice: “Follow the blaze of passion that illuminates your life path.”

Even if that journey seems a bit contradictory. “Anyone who thinks that soldiers can’t dance is very sadly mistaken,” Enriquez says.