Meet the graduate: Genevieve O'Keeffe

Did your original career aim change from when you started your studies to when you graduated?

As part of our career studies at WAAPA, students were encouraged to draft a five-year plan, documenting their honest ambitions for the years ahead. The path I chose to lay out at this time felt both wildly ambitious and somewhat confused, an idealised journey through to a dream company which in no way felt attainable or realistic. I saw myself as a dancer somewhat suspended between genres, versatile but not refined towards any specific direction.

By the time my studies at WAAPA came to end I had embraced a new-found trust in my classical skills and began to envision a viable career in classical ballet. This short-lived ambition, while challenging, guided me into a career where I would carve out my own divergent path and seek movement which I connected to, only to end up where I first began, pursuing the companies I first dreamt of. 

What were the main life-lessons your learnt through doing full time studies?

I think many of the lessons learned during my time studying are only now coming to the surface. The ability to accept the steady, non-linear nature of growth is something I continue to remind myself most days in this industry. That the small consistent moments of discovery, connection and satisfaction are what accumulate to shape who I am as a dancer and can’t be demanded or forced impatiently.

@jonvee.ev