Right from when he began lessons at age five, Aeden Pittendreigh knew he wanted to be a classical dancer. He is now on his way to achieving just that, as the recipient of a $20,000 Marten Bequest Travelling Scholarship.
Now 19 years old, Pittendreigh has spent his whole life studying ballet. He began at the Premiere Dance Academy (principal Tania Whelan) in his hometown of Brisbane. As he grew older he also joined the Queensland Dance School of Excellence, completing his academic as well as dance studies and expanding his range to singing, hip hop, contemporary and jazz, and graduating with the “Most Improved Boy Award”. He also spent six months at the Queensland Ballet’s Professional Year. With his Premiere Dance Academy teacher he prepared an audition DVD and sent it to various overseas schools. In a very short time he received an invitation to join the English National Ballet School. He is now in his second year.
“There’s something so prestigious about ballet,” he said on the phone from London.
“Also, I liked the idea of something to work for, steps you can build on.” His enthusiasm was probably helped when he was young by his ballet-loving mother, who always took him with her to performances by the Queensland and Australian Ballet companies as well as the accompanying educational sessions. In addition, “I remember when I was 13 I read Mao’s Last Dancer, and I realised that this was a career that would take me around the world.”
In London he lives in student accommodation in Earls Court, 10 minutes walk from school, which houses 50 international students from various walks of life – dancers, musicians, science students. “Going home is half the fun,” he says of his lifestyle. “I’ve got some great friends. And I have encountered so many different cultures which I never did in Australia.”
Pittendreigh plans to use his prize money to audition for companies around the world. “I would love to live in a country where English isn’t spoken,” he says. “It would be great to experience a different culture.
