Young dancer Jessi Seymour is about to embark on a dream trip to Europe as she chases a career in ballet.
Jessi, 15, from Bonnet Bay, will board a plane for London this weekend to visit the Royal Ballet School, followed by a trip to Switzerland to compete in the Prix de Lausanne.
The promising ballerina has been dancing since she was 2, and joined Sydney’s Alegria Dance Studios full-time when she turned 14 to take her dancing more seriously.
Her goal this year is to land an offer from a ballet school in Europe to help her pursue her dream of becoming a professional ballerina.
Last year, Jessi was asked to visit the Royal Ballet School in London where she will stay for a week later this month. She was also selected as one of 10 Australians to compete at the Prix de Lausanne competition in Switzerland, being held from January 30 to February 4.
The Prix de Lausanne competition is for young dancers of any nationality, aged 15 to 18, who are not yet professionals. There were 338 candidates from 36 different countries who applied for the 2017 competition with the top 72 given the green light to compete.
“It’s a huge honour. Being able to dance with international dancers is going to give me a new perspective,” Jessi said.
“I can't wait to hang out with dancers from around the world who have a shared dream.
“I think the experience will be great for learning … I really hope to have fun as well and not take it so seriously that I forget that the reason I dance is because I love it. I hope I can show the audience my love of dance too.”
Among her achievements last year, Jessi was a finalist at the Robert and Elizabeth Albert Sydney Eisteddfod Junior Classical Ballet Scholarship competition.
The competition adjudicator Alexandra Cownie praised her performance after the event. “She made a beautiful entrance with lovely control. A stunning dancer.”
