BALLARAT’S own Odette will take flight to the Swiss lake-side city of Lausanne for one of the world’s most prestigious ballet competitions.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Georgia Swan is one of seven young Australian ballerina’s selected to perform in the Prix de Lausanne later next month where 80 dancers from across the globe will showcase the art of ballet.
“I wasn’t selected last year but Mum said there was no point in not applying again,” Ms Swan said.
After completing VCE at the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School in Melbourne, the 18-year-old was able to celebrate schoolies for three days before returning to train for her Prix de Lausanne audition.
Ms Swan’s current training regime has her slippers strapped on for more than 30 hours a week, but the relentless hard work has paid off and she will join the Queensland Ballet School, where Mao’s Last Dancer writer Li Cunxin is an artistic director, upon her return from Switzerland.
She said her drive for perfection was what kept her so disciplined.
“Every time I go and watch the Australian Ballet Company or (sic) going to Switzerland – seeing those dancers just makes me want to be as perfect as them,” she said.
The teenager’s career has progressed in leaps and bounds with several scholarships being presented to her, including the inaugural Valrene Tweedi Scholarship presented by the Cecchetti Association of Australia.
Jeanette Wheeler said her granddaughter had been dancing since she was five, and began ballet when she was eight.
“When she was two she could dance on her toes while watching Riverdance on the telly. You could tell she always had dance in her.”