COLIN Peasley is taking his knowledge and passion for ballet to the world.
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But that hasn’t stopped the Australian Ballet’s longest-serving member from giving his time to some young Ballarat dancers.
Mr Peasley, who was with the Australian Ballet for 50 years before retiring last year, was guest of honour at a workshop for 50 dancers yesterday at Ballarat’s Kerry Moore School of Ballet.
Between visits to Cuba and Vietnam, the 78-year-old was one of five guest teachers at the school.
He had left an impression on the young dancers, Kerry Moore said.
“Colin has a wealth of experience but he is also generous and open to sharing his knowledge with kids from ballet schools,” Miss Moore said. “He is famous for a passion for dance. He loves ballet and he passes on that joy, along with his technical knowledge.
“What I thought was magical was that the children got a real taste of a class by a master with pianist Keith Ng from the Australian Ballet School.
“Colin has a very vivacious personality so it was a real coup for us for the kids. He has done some amazing things in ballet and the fact he is still choosing to do things like come up here and pass on his knowledge, we really appreciate it.”
Mr Peasley was recently a guest teacher on ballet in Cuba and will soon go to Vietnam to teach ballet.
Other guest teachers included Monica Swayne, who has just finished performing in the production of Mary Poppins. Ms Swayne taught jazz, musical theatre and Broadway. Ballarat-based teachers Leah Moneghetti (cheerleading, stretch and limber), Rhys Valasquez (hip-hop) and Amy Harbour (choreography) also instructed the students.