Our ascending Stars... Freya Thomas

Our Ascending Stars....

Drawing by noomiedoodlesfashion

The quite fabulous noomiedoodlesfashion very generously gave up some time to work on my brief, which was to use her fashion expertise to conjure up traditionally dressed dancers but with a fashionable twist.

'Our ascending stars'…. follows the progress of professional dancers who have graduated this year. Regular readers will know that all of the dancers featured here were interviewed just as they made the transition from vocational school to professional ballet company. Here we see how they've been getting on....

Freya Thomas, Bayerisches Staatsballett, Munich

Freya and a friend in Bavarian national dress at the Munich Octoberfest

What is it like now that you are working as a professional ballet dancer ?

Beginning a career as a professional dancer is quite a challenge. As the newest member of the company I have had to quickly adapt to the company style and also learn the existing repertoire as fast as I can. This has meant spending many hours studying DVD's of past performances and also having extra coaching sessions with the ballet mistress. Inevitably I have been expected to cover many different places and have had to be ready to jump in at short notice if a colleague is off sick or injured.

Which roles have you performed so far and what did you enjoy ?

The first role I danced was the dream sequence in Raymonda; it was brilliant to start with such a beautiful classical work. I next danced as a Swan in Terence Kohler’s “Once Upon An Ever After ” which is part of the triple bill “100 Years of Ballet Russes.” In the same triple bill I also danced as a tambourine girl in Scheherazade which had the most stunning costumes and hairstyles. I have also performed in Die Kameliadame and Kylián s Zugvögel . These ballets were all new repertoire for me and I have really enjoyed learning work by choreographers whose style I hadn’t experienced before. It was especially exciting to be rehearsed for the swans by Terence Kohler himself.

What have you learnt that’s been unexpected ?

I’ve learnt just what a small world the dance community is. I didn’t know anyone in the company before I started but have discovered that we have many mutual friends from all over the world who have trained or worked together in the past. The members of the company have really made me feel at home and although I miss my old school friends I have made a new social circle much quicker than I expected.

What’s been the best thing about Company life so far ?

The best thing so far is to know that I have taken my first steps as a professional. This time last year I was still a student just starting the audition process and now I am part of a brilliant company which will hopefully guide me to a long and enjoyable career as a dancer.

Which roles are coming up for you in the New Year ?

At the moment I have been cast in Onegin and Mats Ek's Giselle. I am very excited about dancing in both, Onegin is such a beautiful story ballet, and Mats Eks version of Giselle will be really fun as I have never done a performance in such a contempory style and it will really push me.

Ascending stars

Drawing by noomiedoodlesfashion