Meet Chelsea-Lee Nicholls

Studied: Tanya Pearson Academy
Presently: Slovakian National Ballet.

One of my best memories of full-time dance studies was in my first year of training. My friend Ginger Hobbs choreographed a contemporary piece. I was lucky enough to be given a lead part and I will forever feel grateful for that. The sense of unity I felt dancing along with my classmates, who had become my family, was extremely gratifying.  It’s an indescribable feeling.

I made friends in first year who I will be friends with for many years to come. Even though we stopped training together we are still close and supportive of each other. The shared experience of moving out of the traditional school setting and embarking on a potentially life-changing journey to become a dancer is something that we can all look back on as something special.

In completing my dance training the main lesson I learnt was to just keep going and believe that my hard work would pay off.  Everyone's training takes different paths. Some students move to schools overseas while others, like myself, stay at the same school. There is a time and place for everyone; sometimes you just need to wait for your opportunity and take it.

Every knock-back has made me a stronger dancer. Every achievement has spurred me on and my confidence has grown. My success was also due to the exceptional training I received at Tanya Pearson Academy for 11 years and to the teachers who believed in me.

In my final year I gained entry to the Prix de Lausanne and competed there earlier this year. It was an amazing opportunity to learn from world-renowned teachers. I was then able to organise an audition tour in Europe with the assistance of my teacher Lisa-Maree Cullum and am thrilled to have secured my first professional contract with the Slovakian National Ballet.