Dancing with the stars

Although only 12 years old, Milana Gould has just accomplished what most young ballet dancers can only dream about – performing onstage with a world-famous ballet company and receiving a standing ovation.
Milana, a full time vocational student at The Dance Centre Peregian Springs (TDCPS), was cast in The Royal Ballet Company’s highly acclaimed production of ‘Woolf Works’ at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre last week.
Milana said seeing what goes on behind the scenes, watching how professional dancers warm up and practice and then performing on stage with them – was an experience she will never forget.
“I was quite nervous before the opening night but the soloists and principals were really friendly backstage and made us laugh and forget about our nerves,” she said.
“Receiving a standing ovation was amazing.
Milana earned the opportunity to audition for the Royal Ballet through her membership of Queensland Ballet’s Junior Excellence program.
Auditions were held at the Queensland Ballet School where students were taught contemporary dances by the Royal Ballet trainers, similar in choreography to Woolf Works.
Two casts of six dancers were chosen from this group of students and Milana was one of them.
The dancers began rehearsing in March, in readiness for the arrival of The Royal Ballet Company in June, and then rehearsed with them until they performed in July.
Milana is already a polished performer. She was a semi-finalist in the world’s third largest ballet competition, the Alana Haines Award held in New Zealand in April, and a semi-finalist in the Brisbane Performing Arts Company Challenge held in Brisbane in June.
For more information visit www.dancecentreperegiansprings.com or call 5442 8128.