Making marks in Germany

Australian Danielle Muir is now dancing in Berlin, reports Luke Forbes.

At the age of 22 Danielle Muir, has already made her mark on the German capital. Now in her third season in the ensemble of the Staatsballett Berlin, she has consistently been cast in prominent roles. During a conversation with her early in 2016, she rattled off a list of her early career highlights, achievements which would commonly be amassed over a much longer time period.

“I have danced in many ballets since joining the company, but there are a few that really stick out in my mind. I danced the White Cat in Nacho Duato’s Sleeping Beauty [and] was lucky enough to be able to dance it while on tour in Madrid. Giselle’s friends was another technical but fun role to dance. I also really enjoyed dancing in Angelin Preljocaj’s The Nights and Nacho Duato’s White Darkness.”

Without precluding her hard work and determination, Muir has been fortunate to have been offered opportunities rather than have to “fight” for them. As she explains with regard to her dance education: “Before I was offered a place at the Royal Ballet School, I actually didn’t know much about it. Being an Australian, I had my heart set on going to the Australian Ballet School and I was offered a place there as a full-time student when I was fourteen.”

Due to reasons beyond her control the young Danielle was unable to accept the offer in Melbourne. The following year however she competed in the Alana Haines Australasian Awards in New Zealand and the director of Royal Ballet School was one of the judges. “She spoke to me after the competition and expressed her interest, but at the time I was still a bit too young. So she asked me to send a DVD the following year. As it turned out, a year later I was able to go to London and take classes at the school for a week and on the second day I was offered a place for the next year.”

In contrast to the ease with which Muir received a coveted place at the Royal Ballet School, once in London she found herself confronted with the reality of a full-time dance education. Nevertheless, the high standards of the Royal Ballet School evidently paid off when her first audition outside London jump-started what is usually a very difficult period for young dancers.

“The audition for Staatsballett Berlin was one of the first company auditions of the year,” she recalls. “It was an open audition held in the company studios in Berlin. I took class and immediately after the director -- Vladimir Malakhov at the time -- called me in to his office and offered me a contract. It seemed to happen so quickly and smoothly.”

 Many dancers who graduate from ballet schools are faced with the prospect of no steady work or income, searching for affordable daily classes, or accepting less-than-ideal working conditions associated with short-term contracts. Danielle on the other hand found herself with different challenges.

“When you are in school you are constantly being told what to do and being pushed by your teachers. They tell you everything you need to know and keep you motivated and on track. But in a company you are totally in control of how you work. If you slack off and let your technique slip, no one is going to let you know and tell you how to work and improve. You have to be very self aware and self motivated to continue improving in a company, especially as a corps de ballet dancer.”

 Having overcome these professional challenges, in addition to minor social ones -- such as settling in to a non-English speaking environment and finding friends among a group of colleagues with diverse backgrounds and experiences -- Muir intends to stay in Berlin for the foreseeable future. “My long-term goal is to become a principal ballerina and be able to dance my favourite roles,” she confides. By the look of her promising career thus far it appears to be a realistic goal. In her own words, “As soon as I started the audition class [in Berlin], it just felt right.”