Full-time training: Alegria Dance Studios (2023–2025)
Currently training: State Ballet School Berlin
How did the community within your program shape your experience and growth as a dancer and individual?
Throughout my full-time training at Alegria, I evolved enormously as both a dancer and creative artist. Before beginning, I was convinced classical ballet wasn’t for me and imagined my career would be entirely in contemporary dance.
My teacher Hilary Kaplan recognised that I was struggling to feel motivated in ballet, but continued to encourage and challenge me. Hilary and Archibald Mackenzie saw potential in me and remained committed to developing my technique. After countless corrections, rehearsals and exam preparations, I began to see real improvement and developed a genuine passion for classical ballet.
Over time, I found ways to combine my love of contemporary dance and ballet, developing a movement quality and artistic style that felt like my own. Every teacher in the program helped guide me to where I am today, and I’m incredibly grateful.
What was the most significant creative or artistic challenge you faced during your studies?
One of the biggest challenges of my training was learning the Advanced 2 syllabus in just three days before taking the exam. Four days before applications closed for The Fonteyn, I unexpectedly received financial support from a donor in New Zealand to help me compete.
Hilary Kaplan took on the enormous task of teaching and polishing the exam work in an incredibly short timeframe. It was demanding and stressful, but the work paid off. I travelled to London to compete, where I won the Choreographic Prize and was awarded a medal. I’ll always be deeply grateful to Hilary for believing in me and for the dedication and care she gave to my training.