Dance

Royal Academy of Dance Awards – A Remarkable Achievement for Pymble Ballet!

Over the past fortnight, selected Pymble Ballet students from participated in the prestigious Ballet Awards hosted by the Royal Academy of Dance. Our younger dancers in Years 5 and 6 competed in the Joan and Monica Halliday Awards, while our more advanced dancers in Years 7 to 10 participated in the Isobel Anderson Awards.

We are thrilled to congratulate our students for their exceptional efforts. The competition was fierce, with talented dancers from across Sydney and as far as Newcastle. Despite the high standard, our students held their own admirably, and we could not have been prouder to witness their performances, demonstrating such courage and dedication.

This marked Pymble Ballet’s debut in this competition, and our students represented the school with remarkable grace and pride. To enter, students must achieve a high score in their previous exam. Although some were unable to progress beyond the preliminaries, their efforts were truly admirable.

Year 5

Avril Huang, Jianing Li, Davina Excell

Year 6

Aurora Lin, Isabelle La, Emma Feng

Year 7

Millie Tian

Year 8

Stella Pieterse, Victoria Xu, Lana Tao, Camilla Metcalfe

Year 9

Emma Scott

Year 10

Charlotte King

A special mention goes to Isabelle La (Year 6), who progressed to the Finals—an outstanding achievement! Additionally, we are incredibly proud of Millie Tian (Year 7) and Charlotte King (Year 10), advancing to the Semi-Finals, showcasing their talent and representing Pymble Ballet with poise and maturity.

Congratulations dancers on this incredible milestone you have reached!

Laura Fishwick

Dance Co-ordinator – Ballet and Technique, and External Stream

First Nations Dance Guest Teacher

On Thursday 6 March, our First Nations Dance Group marked the first of four in a series of workshops with guest teacher, Brianna Kemmerling.

Brianna is a graduate of NAISDA Dance College (2022) earning an Advance Diploma after four and a half years of training. Brianna has performed for Gary Lang’s NT Dance Company on several works including ‘Waŋa’ (with Darwin Symphony Orchestra), the Opening Ceremony for Darwin Aboriginal Arts Fair Online, and the debut work ‘Forbidden’. Since 2019, Brianna has worked for organisations such as Gawura Cultural Immersion directed by Stuart McMinn performing Welcome/Acknowledgment/Cleansing Ceremonies and conducting Aboriginal Dance workshops across the Greater Sydney and Central Coast regions. Brianna was the 2023 recipient of the Lucy Guerin Inc. First Nations Graduate Internship. She has worked for Culture College in North East Arnhem Land, as a mentor for young people while also connecting with NAISDA alumni and other artists along her travels.

Brianna began a creative process with the group, intersecting dance and art practices, reflective of her own work in the industry. The students learned how to weave, a series of urban dance grooves and will soon incorporate both of these skillsets into a contemporary movement vocabulary.

Congratulations to this ensemble for their work in their first two sessions – we cannot wait to see you perform this later in the year.

Thank you to Ms. Madeleine Gardiner, Indigenous Student Education Co-ordinator, for her continued support.

Lucy Eaton

Dance Co-ordinator – Secondary School