This article was originally published in the Apr/May edition of Dance Australia as part of the second in our series about Australians overseas.
Four-year-old Tess Sturmann was tossing up between being a dolphin trainer, kindy teacher and ballerina as a career – the latter won out, and now she is an “aspirant” with Dutch National Ballet (Het Nationale Ballet).
Growing up in Gymea in Sydney’s south, Sturmann started training at Kennedy Dance Academy where she stayed until she was 14, before moving to Alegria Dance Studios, and then crossing the world to study at the Royal Conservatoire in the Hague, aged 16 – with her eye on a contract with the DNB.
After graduating, Sturmann had a tough decision to make: “After two years at the Conservatoire I graduated from my studies and was offered a full time contract in a smaller company in Prague and an apprenticeship short term contract with the Het Nationale Ballet. I then had to decide whether to gamble for the dream or settle on a secure contract somewhere else. I decided to give it a chance, taking comfort in the thought that I could always audition again the next year if nothing more came from my apprenticeship other than gaining some great professional experience.”
The gamble paid off for Sturmann: “After the first production I performed in with Het National Ballet I had a meeting with artistic director Ted Branson, who then offered me a permanent contract in his company for the following season.”
Sturmann has only danced one full season with the company, but says: “A couple of highlights that I’ve already experienced would definitely include our Beijing tour last November when the entire company was flown to China to perform Don Quixote. This was my first international tour with the company and the entire experience was awesome. I’ve also had the opportunity of finally being able to work with some extremely well established and respected choreographers and ballet masters such as Sir Peter Wright, John Neumeier and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui in both classical and contemporary fields which are experiences I find endlessly inspiring.“
ASTRID LAWTON
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