IN MY SUITCASE ~

SHAI VOORHAM

Dancer, Tasmanian Ballet Company

It is with great pleasure that I present Shai Voorham as our latest dancer to feature in the IN MY SUITCASE series. I first met Shai when she was only very little. I had the pleasure of choreographing for her as well as coaching her in preparation for some of her Royal Academy of Dance examinations. A genuine, fun, bubbly girl I have to keep slapping myself because she is fast growing up and developing into quite the technician. 

Shai has been selected as part of the Tasmanian Ballet Company's Tenth Anniversary Season. I discovered what she will be packing in her suitcase....

5 Things that I am packing in my suitcase are....

1. POINTE SHOES lots of them! I have 20 pairs on order from Westerern Australia to last me for the year, hopefully longer!
2. Leotards!! some just plain and others with lots of fun colours for those days when you feel the need to stand out and have abit more fun!
3. My Teddy is coming with me I cant go anywhere without my teddy!
4. My school work so I can still keep as up to date as I can with year 12 when I come home after a days work.
5. My Ipod, when I need to just zone out and relax for a while.

What are you most looking forward to for the upcoming season with Tasmanian Ballet Company?

I am looking forward to the experience of being apart of a professional ballet company as it has been my goal since I was 5 and now I am slowly getting closer to my dream, and just to get a taste of what it will be like. It will be a once in a lifetime chance.

What ballet will the Tasmanian Ballet Company be presenting this season?

The 2012 season for the Tasmanian Classical Ballet Company will be the Full Lengh, Four-Act Ballet The Sleeping Beauty for their 10th anniversary.

What are you currently studying at Ballet Theatre of Victoria?

Currently at ballet I am studying a Russian method of classical training at a pre professional level. I also study Character dancing which involves many styles of character including spanish dance and gyspy.

Currently, what is your daily routine?

My daily routine is arriving at ballet for warm-up mostly doing our floorbarre routine at 8:30am and classical class at 10am running for mostly two and a half hours, then we will have a pointe class that will lead straight into rehearsals of either Leeanne Rutherford's new ballet or Giselle Act II. On a Tuesday and a Thursday we have Character class for an hour and a half and on a Wednesday and Friday we do Pas de Deux class also for an hour and a half.

The hardest thing about living away from home is...

The hardest thing about living away from home I have found is not having anyone to come home to and telling exactly what I did that day in technical terms! It is hard to explain to someone who does not know what ballet really involves and its terms to explain your day properly. Skype helps but does not work sometimes so that kinda sucks!

What do you love most about dancing?

What I love most about dancing is that it gives me a freedom that I find nothing else does and when I am on stage it is the most rewarding feeling because I know that I have put in the time and effort to get this opportunity to perform for a live audience. It just brings so much happiness into my life, yes it involves a lot of tears and some hard days but in the end none of it matters when I'm on stage and doing what I love for others to watch and fill their life with joy. It makes me enjoy ballet even more not only as a dancer but as an artist.

Tasmanian Ballet will be performing The Sleeping Beauty at the Derwent Entertainment Centre in Hobart on 14th July 2012. Click here for more dates!