SOME local ballerinas are full of nervous anticipation as they prepare to take the stage alongside the Victorian State Ballet this weekend.
Young dancers Rayne Evans, Ella Davis, Leila Krahnert and Charlise Capone from Dance It Up Studio are just four of 22 dancers selected to perform alongside professional ballerinas in the ballet’s production of The Snow Queen on Sunday.
Dancers were also selected from Richardson Dance Studio, Dance Force Studio and Parkes School of Dance through an audition workshop held a couple of weeks ago.
Dance It Up Studio owner Nikki Capone told The Guardian it was a great experience for her students to go through a real audition process, especially for those are wanting to pursue performing arts further in the future.
“It is a good learning base for them to see what it is actually like, because it can be quite cut-throat,” Ms Capone said.
“It was a good challenge for them, but they did really well and I am super proud of them.”
Dance It Up student Ella Davis, 11, said it was a really good learning experience for her.
“It was good but challenging,” she said.
“I like watching the professional dancers with their technique, I learned a lot from them.”
The local dancers will be a part of the village scene of the production, performing a three-minute dance they learned on the day of their audition.
They will come together for a big rehearsal on Saturday, before taking the stage on Sunday.
Ms Capone said having these opportunities in regional areas like Swan Hill was extremely important.
“Being so far from the city, it’s not just an easy ‘let’s go down to the city and do some classes’, so for them to come up as regularly as they do is fantastic, and it’s a great opportunity for our performers to get in and have a go and see them perform as well,” she said.
The ballet takes the stage at Swan Hill Town Hall on Sunday at 1pm and is suitable for all ages. Tickets are available at the Swan Hill Town Hall website or the town hall booking office.
