It's 2 p.m. While many college students in America are either in class or at work, 20-year-old Melissa Mull is tying her pointe shoes. As a company dancer in Orlando's Southern Ballet Theatre, she stretches her muscles, preparing for the long daily afternoon rehearsal ahead.

Living a dream

Mull, who has been a student at the Southern Ballet Theatre since the age of 10, is living her dream. She is in her third season in the professional ballet company. "Ever since I was 3, dancing in a real company is all I ever wanted to do," said Mull. "I dance because I love it."

A rigorous schedule

The company rehearses from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. every Tuesday through Saturday. On a typical rehearsal day, Mull gets up at 8 a.m. She eats a quick breakfast and pulls on a leotard and tights, leaving her house in Longwood around 9 a.m.

At the SBT studio on Lake Ivanhoe, all of the company dancers take ballet class at 10 a.m. for an hour and a half. "The ballet class in the morning is our normal warm-up to prepare for the full day of rehearsal," said Mull.

Fuel for the fire

After their routine ballet class, the dancers get a lunch break from 1 to 2 p.m. "There are lots of cute little cafes around here," said Mull. "Most of us either go to Einstein's, Starbucks, or Publix to get subs. And I eat a lot!"

At 2 p.m., the dancers go to a rehearsal with their dance teacher (coach) and artistic director. Each dancer's rehearsal schedule depends on what parts he or she will be dancing in the next show. "We rehearse for whatever we will be performing at Bob Carr next, so sometimes not everyone is needed at every rehearsal," said Mull.

Life after practice

The dance rehearsal ends at 6 p.m. Mull said she is usually so tired from practice that she just goes home, where she eats dinner with her family, watches TV, showers, and is in bed by midnight. "I usually only go out on Saturday and Sunday nights because I don't have rehearsal the next day," said Mull.

On Monday nights, Mull attends classes at Seminole Community College for Interior Design. Mull said that many of the dancers have separate jobs as ballet teachers, either at SBT or at other nearby dance schools, and they work at these jobs after their rehearsals or on their days off.

On their off-time

The SBT dancers' rigorous dancing schedules do not stay in such a whirlwind state year-round. "We get four months off during the summer, and I use that time to attend classes at SCC full-time," said Mull. "Most of the international company members either go home during that time or go on tour as guest artists."

Despite the four-month break, Mull stressed the importance of keeping up one's dance technique and flexibility. "Dancing isn't like riding a bike," said Mull. "You have to maintain it. I try to take dance classes at least twice a week during the summer."

Getting paid

The SBT dancers are on salary and get paid every two weeks. "The salary is minimal, but the men get paid a lot more than the women because male dancers are in higher demand," Mull said. "The guys get a pretty good salary, but the girls' amount depends on seniority and raw talent."

At the end of each year, the director calls each dancer into his office for an evaluation, in which he either gives the dancer a raise or keeps their salary the same. "It's very rare for a dancer at SBT to be fired. Quitting is usually their own decision," Mull remarked.

Living quarters

Most of the SBT dancers live in apartments that are 10-15 minutes away from the studio. "There are a lot of couples within the company, so many of the dancers are either married or living together," Mull said. "A lot of the couples have a really hard time making a living because they are both on low- income budgets."

The bottom line

Mull said: "None of us do it for the money. We do it because we love it and we just want to dance."

To see a picture of Mull and learn more about the Southern Ballet Theatre, go to their official website.

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