When a 10-year-old girl gets smitten with dance and harbors dreams of making a profession of it, don’t laugh — it can happen. In fact, that describes how Donna Vittorio, artistic director of Chicago’s Ballet Légere, launched a path that landed her in the terpsichorean trade.

“Growing up Italian in my family greatly influenced my interest in the arts,” says Vittorio, whose parents were both born in Italy. “My father played and sang Italian songs. My sister Camille was a ballroom dancer, my other sister Lucille was a singer, and my brother Lou is a musician.”