Ballet takes Point!

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Male ballet dancers are definitely a bit of a rare breed. It takes a special blend of strength, flexibility and discipline that you don't often see - and so I was stoked to chat with Gus about what keeps him striving to perfect his art!

It's been a lifelong pursuit, as Gus has been studying Ballet for 11 years at the Dunedin School of Ballet and Dance. And dance runs in the family too - Gus took it up alongside his sister Tatyana after coming along to her classes when they were young.

Being in the second year of Grade 6, there's a lot of commitment - about nine hours a week outside of school dedicated to perfecting new techniques for all sorts of performances and exams in both classical and contemporary styles. Anyone who has done an exam for a school with 'Royal' in the title will know the sort of standard those institutions expect - not for the faint of heart.

So when Gus told me he absolutely loves it, that wasn't hard to believe!

And the commitment is paying off - Gus has already performed 3 times supporting the Royal New Zealand Ballet for their Dunedin performances, and once with the Imperial Russian Ballet.

Being a male ballet dancer is also lot of hard work in a practical sense - you're constantly lifting, doing big jumps and leaps and a lot of turns. It's great for fitness - with none other than our own Highlanders frequenting the same school as Gus for regular flexibility training.

And it seems that while we may not always hear about it, there is actually a bit of a streak for ballet at John McGlashan. Gus told me about one of our alumni students James Burchell who went to the New Zealand School of Dance after his time at the college and is now dancing abroad professionally.

Come to think of it, one of the things I've enjoyed most about getting to know our students this year is that when they find their niche, they really go for it!

We hope you'll join us in wishing Gus good luck with the outcome of his recent audition for the Alberta Ballet summer school.