Nor'West News: May 11, 2023

Thursday May 11 2023 3
Ballerina’s big dream a step closer
• By Heidi Slade
IZZY HOULT is heading to
London in June to help make
her dream of becoming a prima
ballerina come true.
The 15-year-old has been
dancing since she was four.
Now, 11 years later, she will
attend the Rambert School of
LONDON
BOUND:
Ballerina
Izzy Hoult
has been
accepted into
the Rambert
School’s
summer
intensive.
Its alumni
include soloist
Carolina
Cortesi (below
right).
PHOTO:
AMBER
GRIFFEN
Ballet and Contemporary Dance
summer intensive, a programme
that only accepts 30 dancers a
year worldwide.
Alumni include Sir Frederick
Ashton CBE, founding choreographer
of the Royal Ballet in
London, and ballerina Carolina
Cortesi.
In March 2017, Cortesi was
offered a two-year soloist
contract with Plzen Ballet in the
Czech Republic.
The Rambert School summer
class will help Izzy on her
journey to becoming a prima
ballerina – a ballerina who is first
in their company and performs
lead roles.
“My favourite ballets are the
classics, Romeo and Juliet, Swan
Lake and Giselle. So to dance the
lead roles in those ballets would
be an honour,” she said.
“I just want to keep improving,
striving to push my boundaries
and limits.”
Izzy has been to a summer
intensive at the Dutch
National Academy of Ballet in
Amsterdam, making this her
second international trip.
She dances at Anna Lee
School of Dance for 30-35 hours
each week and attends Te Kura
correspondence school.
Izzy’s mornings are dedicated
to schoolwork, but she will dance
from 1-8pm most days.
“My studio is my home, my
happy place,” she said.
“I remember when I was six
and was at my old studio in the
Tai Tapu hall and early Saturday
morning I would have rehearsal,
it was so cold you could see my
breath, but leg warmers and all,
it felt like home, ballet is where I
belong.”
But getting to London will be
no easy feat.
Last Wednesday, Izzy’s family
held a fundraising night, with
members of the Little River
community coming to hear
guest speakers talk about their
life experiences and challenges.
At $35 per person, plus
donations from those who
couldn’t be at the fundraiser,
Izzy and her family raised $1300
for her trip and course fees.
When she was about 12,
Izzy knew she wanted to be a
professional dancer.
She looks up to world-class
ballerinas like Marianela Nunez
of the Royal Ballet.
“She’s just incredible to
watch.”
Another idol is Gillian
Murphy, whom Izzy admires for
her skill – and partly because she
is a fellow redhead.
Izzy’s last competition was
the Alana Hains Australasian
Awards in Wellington.
She placed 25th out of 200 in
her category and was one of the
youngest in the group.
“Being onstage with the lights
and costumes feels amazing and
so rewarding,” she said.
“Having the opportunity
to share my love and passion
with the audience makes all the
training and hours of rehearsals
in pointe shoes all worth it.”
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