European stage: Zali steps up for European ballet auditions

from The Grammarian - Summer Edition 2023

by The Rockhampton Grammar School

Q&A

Zali Burr (RGS 2017) is taking her ballet aspirations overseas. Here is Zali’s story:

“After finishing my schooling at RGS, I attended the Queensland National Ballet where I completed an Advanced Diploma in Elite Performance (Dance). I also studied to become a qualified teacher with the Australian Conservatoire of Ballet which I have been using to coach the next generation of dancers supplementing my own studio training.

In the past few years I have had the opportunity to perform in a number of ballets and roles. These include, Carabosse (Maleficent) in the Ballet Sleeping Beauty, Dew Drop Fairy in the Nutcracker Ballet and the Fairy Godmother in the Ballet Cinderella Starting off my professional career I performed in a sold out season of Tchaikovsky by Candlelight at St John’s Cathedral in Brisbane, where I performed various ballet solos along with live string quartet Paradiso Strings.

In 2022, I performed a season with Ballet International Gala as a Corps de Ballet member. During this season, international ballet superstars travelled to Australia to perform the principal roles. Some of the superstars that I was able to meet and be on stage with were Yasmin Naghdi (Principal at The Royal Ballet), Benedicte Bemet (Principal with The Australian Ballet) and Roberto Bolle (Principal with American Ballet Theatre and La Scala). Meeting these dancers and being able to watch them rehearse and perform was truly inspiring.

In February 2023, I’ve been attending invite only auditions throughout Europe –Croatia, Italy, Netherlands and the Czech Republic. These auditions host up to 30 artistic directors from various European Ballet Companies. They all attend with a view to contracting dancers. It is an achievement to be invited to these and an incredible opportunity to perform for any of the companies around Europe.”