Dancing her way to Europe

She attended her very first ballet class at the age of two. Little did Pia know then that one day in the future she would find herself fielding an offer to study with Russia’s renowned Bolshoi Ballet Academy, or that she would perform on stages around the world.

This year, Pia, who is in Year 8 at Haileybury’s Newlands campus, flew to Europe to take part in ballet masterclasses in Florence and Genoa with a select group of dance students from around the globe.

In Florence, Pia attended a week of rigorous training with the Bolshoi Ballet, held in a historic 15th century palazzo. At the end of the training, Pia was offered a direct-entry scholarship to the prestigious Bolshoi Ballet Academy. However, with the current state of world affairs and the war between Russia and Ukraine, Pia was unable to accept the offer.

“Florence is a beautiful city and it was a very special experience to attend the Bolshoi Ballet Academy program. It was a lot of hard work and I did struggle with understanding the teachers as they only spoke in Russian, but the dance training was exceptional!” says Pia.

“Training was from 9am to 5pm every day and included Russian ballet technique, pointe class, character dance, stretching and rehearsals for the end-of-week performance. I was shocked to be offered a scholarship to study in Russia – to know I have the potential to attend such a great school is amazing.”

Moving on to Genoa, Pia took part in the Youth America Grand Prix Summer Workshop and continued to hone her ballet skills during masterclasses, rehearsals and in gala performances at the Nervi Ballet Festival. Pia performed on an open-air stage with the Mediterranean Sea as a backdrop and has already been invited back to perform again next year.

“Dancing on the open-air stage with 200-plus ballerinas all dressed in white was a very special experience. The highlight for me was watching my favourite ballerina, Maria Khoreva, perform Swan Lake. I was lucky enough to meet her and she signed my pointe shoes!” says Pia.

After Europe, Pia flew to Bangkok where she represented Australia in the Asian Grand Prix Finals and placed in the top ten.

Pia dances at Melbourne Academy of the Arts and combines school and homework with 25 hours a week of ballet training. She has her mum, Mariangela, to thank for introducing her to ballet all those years ago.

“I always walked around on my toes as a toddler so Mum thought I might enjoy ballet. I love everything about it – the music, the tutus, the hard work and performing on stage. I also love going to the ballet to watch my favourite ballerinas perform for inspiration,” says Pia.

“I’m going to keep training and hope to have many other experiences and opportunities to learn and improve. Being among so many incredible dancers, artists and teachers this past year has really inspired me to keep working hard.”

Understandably, Pia’s mum and her father, Frank, are very proud of Pia’s commitment to ballet and her achievements so far.

“Pia is very dedicated, and it was wonderful to watch her perform and shine on stage in Italy,” says Mariangela.

“I treasure spending this time with her and making memories all while enriching Pia’s journey towards a career in ballet.”

Photo credits: LK Studio