by FAB Admin | Dec 3, 2021 | Australian Ballet, Latest News, Upcoming Event News
Evangeline Beal-Attwood
Evangeline Beal-Atwood was born and raised in Newcastle NSW and is one of four children.
She started dancing at the age of two at a small local school called Action Dancers. At the age of five,
Evangeline moved to The Marie Walton Mahon Dance Academy which is now The National College of Dance
in Lambton NSW. It was there that her love for the art form deepened.
At the age of 11, Evangeline was certain ballet was something more than just an afterschool hobby. At the
age of 14 she began training part time, which meant three full days of dancing and two days of academic
studies via correspondence. In that year, she achieved her Certificate III in Dance.
Evangeline’s schedule intensified the following year as her dreams and aspirations for ballet grew. At the age
of 15 Evangeline transitioned into a full time program, dancing six days per week, and successfully attained
her Certificate IV in Dance.
Evangeline’s passion for dance motivated her, at the age of 16, to leave her family and fly to Europe to take
up an offer to train at a vocational ballet school in Germany. This experience–both daunting and exciting–
turned out to be not quite what she’d expected, so Evangeline flew to London to audition for the English
National Ballet School. She successfully gained a place in the full time student program. After just six weeks, a
complication with her visa meant that she had to temporarily leave the UK. Evangeline flew home to her
family in Australia. As the COVID-19 situation worsened in the UK, Evangeline and her family made the
decision to pursue training closer to home and gladly accepted a position at The Australian Ballet School.
Evangeline commend training at The Australian Ballet School at Level 7 in 2021.
Evangeline said “Finding a ballet school which offered me world class training whilst also supporting my
mental and physical health wasn’t as easy as I had hoped. However, within the first few weeks of being at The
Australian Ballet School I knew that this was the right place for me. I will forever be thankful that I made the
decision to trust fate led me to this opportunity. My first year at The Australian Ballet School has honestly
been one of the greatest years of my life. I’m sure this was meant to be an important part of my dance
journey. The School and its people have been incredible. From the amazing teaching and facilities, to the
exceptional healthcare, The Australian Ballet School has it all and I genuinely can’t imagine myself anywhere
else. It has truly been one of the most monumental decisions of my life. I’m so grateful to be a student at this
extraordinary school.”
Training Achievements
• 2021 – Commenced training at The Australian Ballet School (Level 7)
• 2020 – Bloch Artiste
• 2020 – Accepted position at Staatiliche Ballettschule Berlin, then moved to English National Ballet School
• 2020 – Offered a position at European School of Ballet
• 2020 – Offered scholarship to Ecole Supérieure de Danse de Cannes Rosella Hightower
• 2020 – Offered a position at Elmhurst Ballet School
• 2019 – NSW RAD Bursary Winner
• 2019 – Semi-finalist at Alana Haines Australasian Awards Wellington, New Zealand and awarded a
scholarship to attend the Royal Danish Ballet Summer school Copenhagen, Denmark
• 2019 – Finalist at Isobel Anderson Awards RAD
• 2018 – Finalist at The Australian Ballet Scholarship Awards
by FAB Admin | Oct 16, 2021 | Australian Ballet, Latest News, Upcoming Event News
As a member of our ballet family, you’re invited to join Artistic Director David Hallberg online as he introduces The Australian Ballet’s 2022 Season.
David will be joined by some of the most acclaimed international choreographers in the dance world today to talk about new works, followed by an in-depth discussion with Principal Artist Dimity Azoury and Senior Artist Callum Linnane.
Discover the 2022 Season in this must-see free event. Simply click the link below on Tuesday 26 October to watch the announcement.
5PM TUESDAY 26 OCTOBER
by FAB Admin | Oct 13, 2021
It is our great pleasure to invite all Friends of The Australian Ballet members and followers, to join us at our next live and online event. Hosted by Friends President Greg Khoury and featuring special guest Alice Topp – one of Australia’s most exciting and acclaimed young choreographers.
Alice will talk us through her creative process in developing her choreography, and how she is pushing our idea of what ballet is through her upcoming initiative Project Animo.
Monday 25th October | Online
5-6pm Discussion and Q&A
Born and raised in Bendigo, Alice started dancing at the age of four. After two years dancing with the Royal New Zealand Ballet, she joined The Australian Ballet as a dancer in 2007, where her choreographic identity first emerged. Her first work, Trace, was created for The Australian Ballet’s 2010 season of its choreographic showcase ‘Bodytorque’. Between 2011 and 2014, Alice would go on to create three more works for Bodytorque, refining her craft and gaining the attention of critics and company directors alike. In 2016, Alice choreographed the critically acclaimed work Little Atlas, which appeared on The Australian Ballet’s mainstage ‘Symphony in C’ program in 2016 and 2017.
In 2018, Alice created her first mainstage one act work Aurum, which premiered as part of the company’s ‘Verve’ program, and went on to its international debut the following year at New York’s leading contemporary dance venue, The Joyce Theater. In 2018, Alice was appointed one of The Australian Ballet’s Resident Choreographers. In 2019, she was invited to spend a month with Studio Wayne McGregor in the United Kingdom, creating a piece for The Grange Festival. The duet she created on the company, Clay, went on to form the basis for a larger work titled Logos for The Australian Ballet’s 2020 ‘Volt’ program, which included two works by McGregor.
Alice has been nominated for a Green Room Award (Little Atlas, 2017) and for three Australian Dance Awards (Aurum, 2018, Same Vein, 2014, Trace, 2010). In 2019, Aurum saw Alice and her creative team win the Helpmann Award for Best Ballet, and a nomination for an Australian Dance Award for Outstanding Achievement in Choreography. She has choreographed music videos for artists including Megan Washington, LANKS and Ben Folds, and has been invited to create works for Houston Ballet II and Queensland Ballet.
Most recently, Alice has co-founded Project Animo, which brings together a collective of independent artistic voices and talent from across Australia’s dance landscape. As creative director, she is collaborating with other beloved Australian Ballet alumni such as Deborah Brown, Madeleine Eastoe, Rudy Hawkes, Andrew Killian, Leanne Stojmenov.
RSVP by midday Monday 25th October | Places are limited
This online event is free for members and $5 for non-members
Event access details will be provided upon RSVP.
BOOK
by FAB Admin | Oct 12, 2021
Express Class + Q&A
The Friends admire Ballet Brothers and their mission to support and encourage males who love to dance, so it is our great pleasure to host our next live and online event in partnership with Ballet Brothers.
Young male dancers are invited to join Jake Burden (founder of Ballet Brothers) in an express 30min class, followed by a Q&A session which parents can also attend.
This event is especially tailored for young male dancers who wish to be set up for success in their pursuit of a successful professional ballet career! It is also an opportunity to shine a light on the mental health of males in dance this Mental Health Month.
This online event is free for 30 lucky participants, and any non-members who sign up will receive a complimentary membership with The Friends.
With expert guidance from Jake, and access to a community of like-minded Ballet Brothers, the next gen of male dancer’s dreams will inch closer to becoming a reality.
Places are limited, so be sure to reserve your spot soon!
This virtual event is free for Friends members and for non-members.
BOOK
Image courtesy of Ballet Brothers. Photo by Pure Dynamics Photography
by FAB Admin | Sep 30, 2021 | Ballet, Latest News
Leanne as Manon, with Steven McRae as des Grieux in Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon at the Royal Ballet. Photo Johan Persson
Due to be released in October, this autobiography by Leanne Benjamin with Sarah Crompton reveals the extraordinary life and career of one of the world’s most important ballet dancers of the past 50 years.
The book will take you behind the scenes to find a real understanding of the pleasure and the pain, the demands and the intense commitment it requires to become a ballet dancer.
‘She’s astonishing, very, very talented. She has a lovely line and all that, but she
brings out the dramatic qualities in the music too.’
— Kenneth MacMillan
‘It’s the uniqueness of the Royal Ballet ballerina Leanne Benjamin that tomorrow
night at Covent Garden, aged nearly 49, she will be playing a sex-mad teenager, and
no one will have the slightest difficulty believing it. Then she’ll retire. Not for her a
soft swoop into long dresses and matronly gestures, easing decorously into the sunset,
but an all-out assault on physical and emotional extremes that is typical of the
career of this tiny stick of dynamite from the Australian outback.’
— Ismene Brown theartsdesk.com, 2013
Grab your copy from Melbourne Books
MORE INFO
