Prima ballerina

She might be only 14 years old but Olivia Carey has an important decision to make in the next couple of months.

The St Martins Lutheran College Year 8 student has a promising future in ballet and opportunities in Queensland and Canada are currently on the table.

The MJ Dance Studio student has been offered a scholarship at Alberta Ballet School in Canada and she has a similar opportunity in Queensland with staying home in Mount Gambier also still one of the options under consideration.

If she decides on the Canadian opportunity that means moving in September next year, which adds to the complication of school years and the like and in both instances it means moving away from home – a long way from home.

She is also open to opportunities at Melbourne ballet schools.

It was as a seven year old that Olivia first dipped her toe into dancing and two years on from that she started to really focus on ballet.

“My next door neighbour danced and she was one of my best friends at the time so I just got involved,” Olivia said.

And it was ballet that has ended up capturing her heart and her passion.

“I think it is more artistic and I really enjoy the technical side of it – I love the challenge,” Olivia said.

For the past two years, Olivia has been part of the Australian Ballet ITP and that has opened many doors for the young dancer who has been able to use that connection, and regular visits to Melbourne, to attend different workshops and forge connections with different ballet schools.

“I attended a few classes with En Pointe as part of their program and I went to Brisbane during last year’s holidays for a summer school and I auditioned and got into their full time program,” she said.

But while Olivia contemplates where her future lies, she is working hard on her role as Swanilda in Coppélia as she prepares for the National Showcase in Queensland in January.

And while she might be a teenager, Olivia is quite comfortable with the thought of leaving home.

“I don’t know how mum will cope with that though,” she said. “I want to take this as far as I can and obviously going to Canada would be cool.”

Olivia’s story, at least at this early stage, is mirroring that of a former MJ alumni Katarina Gajis, who headed to Sydney as a teenager to pursue her ballet dream and is now working in Europe.

“I have not met Katarina but Maria (Slape) has told me a lot about her and what she has done,” Olivia said.

November might be a time when even school is winding down a little, for Olivia, aside from the National Showcase preparations and the finetuning for MJ Dance’s popular annual concert next month, there are also ballet exams.

Olivia is also an assistant teacher, working with the studio’s youngest ballerinas and sometimes taking classes on her own.

To get the kind of offers Olivia is getting for her future dancing aspirations is done to talent but also a lot of hard work.

She heads to the studio most mornings to practice, she has solo lessons with Chrstina Jenkin, competition classes with Maria Slape for the troupes she is involved with outside of her ballet commitments, as well as focussing on strength and conditioning and stretching as a regular part of her routine.

“I also do acro for a bit of fun,” Olivia said.

Ballet, of course, is her priority, and she earned a top 12 position in the contemporary section of the Youth Grand Prix Australia this year in a field of more than 150 dancers.

“During that process we had classes from dancers of the Australian Ballet,” Olivia said.

At the height of Olivia’s trips to Melbourne, every second weekend, to be part of the Australia Ballet program, she has made some wonderful friends and also knows she has been lucky to be able to stay with her grandparents who live in Werribee.

During all this dancing mayhem, Olivia remains committed to her school studies and received an academic award in 2023.

It will be a case of watch this space as to where to next for the young dancing talent.