Year 11 student Elyssa Wiffen has recently been selected to represent Victoria in the Alana Haines Australasian Ballet Awards, to be held in New Zealand on Thurs 18 – 22 April.
Elyssa has been doing ballet since she was three years old, and more recently performs ballet five nights a week with the Kerry Moore School of Ballet in Ballarat.
The Alana Haines Awards is held every two years and attracts ballet schools from around the world. The prize pool totals $400,000, including international training scholarships and travel grants.
Elyssa said that she was selected by her ballet school to compete, and there are four nominees going this year. Elyssa will compete in the classical and contemporary sections, in the individual events.
“Being selected to compete in this high-profile event is the pinnacle of my ballet career so far,” she said.
“I have done training in the Australian Ballet School in Year 8 for a whole year, where I learnt lots and it was a great experience. I have also been competing in Sydney for the past two years, where I have auditioned for other ballet schools around Australia.”
“This will be my first time overseas, so I am very much looking forward to sharing this experience with my mother,” she said.
Upon finishing secondary school, Elyssa hopes to gain a scholarship at a ballet school to continue her love of ballet. She is also interested in studying Dietetics and Nutrition at university.
February 2019
