Three students from Port Macquarie Performing Arts will travel to Melbourne on August 22 for a personal backstage tour of the Australian Ballet.
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The invitation follows a remote dance lesson hosted by former Wauchope resident Jarryd Madden who is part of the Australian Ballet.
Lily Stace, Ashley Middleton and Melodie Cicak took part in a virtual tour of the ballet company’s home in the Arts Centre in Melbourne and were mentored by Jarryd in a video streaming lesson.
Performing arts principal Stacey Morgan said the lesson and invitation to Melbourne were an incredible opportunity for the three students.
“Getting to see their national ballet company in the Arts Centre in Melbourne is a wonderful chance for these young girls who would normally only get to practice their dance in their home studio in Port Macquarie,” she said.
“We were selected as the only regional school across Australia to be schooled by the Australian Ballet and that is all thanks to Jarryd who trained here under Francessca O’Donnell.
“Jarryd wanted to give back to the studio and to give back to the next generation of dance students coming through.
“It is wonderful to have this technology shared to include regional Australia dance students.”
Mrs Morgan said the use of technology could open up opportunity for feedback with dancers from all around the world.
“It would give added insight and correction – and an extra set of eyes – on the students’ performance immediately before their exams,” she said.
“Hopefully we can look at this as a regular event.”
Telstra Northern NSW spokesperson Chris Simon said the virtual tour and live streaming was possible through the Inspire the Next program.
“I think we saw today the power of technology and what it can deliver through virtual reality and video streaming to offer mentoring from Jarryd in Melbourne to these students in Port Macquarie,” he said.
“The students also took a virtual reality tour via our head sets of the ballet company backstage.
“For Telstra, this is about demonstrating technology and how it can connect regional Australia with our metropolitan counterparts.”