FROM STUDENT TO STAR IS AN EXCLUSIVE BALLET NEWS INTERVIEW SERIES FEATURING GRADUATES FROM VOCATIONAL BALLET SCHOOLS – SUCH AS THE ROYAL BALLET SCHOOL – AS THEY BEGIN THEIR PROFESSIONAL CAREERS.
Andrea Riolo graduated from The Royal Ballet School & joins Birmingham Royal Ballet 2.
You’ve been studying at The Royal Ballet School (RBS). When did you join the School and what made you decide to train there ?
I joined The Royal Ballet School in first year Upper School at 16 years old. Growing up I watched Yasmine Naghdi in many cinema relays of The Royal Ballet Company and immediately wanted to follow in her footsteps. After learning that she studied at The Royal Ballet School I knew that is where I wanted to train.
Prior to joining RBS, where did you train, and how early did you start ballet ?
My mother put me in baby ballet when I was only three years old at a local ballet school, Brigitte Gauci Borda School of Dance, in Malta, my home country. I pursued it as a hobby after school until I was 11 years old, when I realized that I wanted to turn this hobby into a career. I took part in YAGP and received multiple scholarships for summer intensives. I chose to attend a three week long Bolshoi summer intensive in New York, and from there got invited to join the Bolshoi’s apprentice program in Moscow, Russia. Eager to improve my technique and artistry, I moved to Moscow where my time was unfortunately cut short due to the outspread of the Coronavirus. Throughout the pandemic I continued my training online through zoom classes with the Bolshoi, after which I was offered a place to join the Bolshoi Ballet Academy as a first year student.
That summer I took part in an online summer intensive of The Vaganova Ballet Academy, following which I was offered a place to join The Vaganova Ballet Academy at St. Petersburg, Russia as a first year. It was a particularly hard decision to make at 14 years old, not only due to language barriers but also due to the fact that the Russian borders were closed due to the spread of the pandemic. This meant that none of my relatives could visit and also that I would not be allowed to re-enter Russia if I returned home for holidays. Notwithstanding, I chose to continue my training at The Vaganova Ballet Academy, where I studied for 8 months and took part in various performances at the Marinsky Theatre and at The Hermitage Theatre.
Although I very much enjoyed training at Vaganova, my dream was still to join The Royal Ballet School and so I took part in an online audition while I was in Russia. I was absolutely over the moon when I was offered a place to join The Royal Ballet School, especially as I was the first Maltese dancer to have been offered this opportunity. My hope is that other Maltese dancers will also be able to fulfil this dream.
What do you think are the important things to focus on during training if you want to become a professional ballet dancer?
A marriage of impeccable technique and versatile artistry are vital to becoming a professional dancer and therefore should be at the forefront of ones training. Undoubtedly, technique can only get one so far. It’s ones drive, determination and passion that will allow a dancer to stand out, continue to progress and achieve the goal of dancing as part of prestigious ballet company.
You’ve accepted a contract with Birmingham Royal Ballet. Congratulations ! Take us through the process of getting the contract and when do you start work?
Birmingham Royal Ballet was always my dream company to join and so I feel extremely honoured to have received this contract!
On the 29th of February myself and a few others made our way to Birmingham for our audition. It was an hour long class with the director, Carlos Acosta, where we managed to complete a full class from barre to grand allegro! It was a very challenging and exhausting class but was extremely enjoyable and rewarding. I especially enjoyed the addition of steps from La Fille mal gardée, an Ashton ballet opening the repertoire next season! On the 18th of March, just a few days before my 19th birthday, Mr. Powney and Ms. Clarke broke the news that Birmingham Royal Ballet were offering me a contract with BRB2 and I simultaneously received the offer by email! I still feel the thrill when I think back about those moments, truly a dream come true.
What are you looking forward to about joining the Company ?
One of my favourite things about Birmingham Royal Ballet is Mr. Acosta’s choice of repertoire, from pure classical ballets such as La Fille mal gardée and Cinderella to new innovative pieces like Black Sabbath. I look forward to experiencing and performing a variety of different styles and roles on various stages across the UK and abroad.
I also look forward to becoming a part of the community amongst the dancers and staff which I felt was so strong when visiting and watching The Birmingham Royal Ballet.
How do you think company life will differ from your student days?
At school, our focus was on ballet class and perfecting our technique. In a company, the morning ballet class just serves as a warm up for rehearsals and that focus instead shifts to performing. Although I will miss my friends from The Royal Ballet School, I look forward to having more personal freedom than in student life, and becoming an integral member of BRB2.
How are you preparing yourself for your first professional contract?
Besides resting and recovering from the pre-professional year and run of end-of-year summer performances, I aim to start my professional career in good shape, both physically and mentally, and fully ready to start learning and rehearsing the first ballet of the season.
What are you your best achievements as a student?
A few highlights from my three years at The Royal Ballet School include being chosen to participate in solos evening which is always an honour. Perhaps my most special achievement was dancing the Lead role in the Hungarian Court dance in Raymonda at Opera Holland Park and the Royal Opera House in first year; that felt truly magical. I also had the honour of performing Sir Fredrick Ashton’s Pas de Douze from Swan Lake at Sadlers Wells as part of the ‘nite for Ukraine Gala as well as in the Linbury Theatre as part of The Next Generation Festival, at Opera Holland Park and The Royal Opera House. I also thoroughly enjoyed performing Mistake Waltz and La Valse, as a principal, on the dreamy Royal Opera House stage at my graduation performance, which was a great ending to my three years at The Royal Ballet School.
Why Ballet?
I fell in love with many aspects of ballet; the way you can connect to an audience without the need for words, and especially the way one can use ones body’s physicality to portray emotions. I also love the feeling of accomplishment when hours of training and coaching pays off and translates into a beautiful performance which an audience feels connected to. The fact that perfection in dance can be never be obtained motivates me to push myself to become 1% better every day, and helps me continue to fall in love with this unique and special art form.
How do you pick yourself up on the days when things aren’t going so well?
It’s easy to fall into a negative mindset of self-doubt, especially when comparing yourself to other dancers on social media or your classmates. It’s important to not allow a bad day or a few bad ballet classes to define you or your abilities as a dancer, as this can very easily become a negative and defeating cycle. Instead, I prefer to focus my attention on what I have accomplished in my career so far, or on steps which I once found challenging and have improved through working on them. I firmly believe that this can aid in re-establishing your self-confidence and get through tough periods, which unfortunately are inevitable.
Do you have a dream role and/or dance partner and if so what/who are they?
My dream role would be Giselle. In my opinion, being able to successfully portray a fragile, happy, innocent, naïve young girl as well as a heartbroken, hurt, betrayed woman requires a dancer to not only have a big variety of technical ability, but more importantly requires an immense level of artistic versatility. I know I would feel truly fulfilled as a ballet dancer and artist if I could connect deeply enough with the audience so as to enable them to feel as though they have experienced Giselle’s painful story through me.
What would you say to students entering their graduate year ?
Do not let rejection define you. Rejection is redirection, it will lead you to where you are ultimately meant to be. Keep working hard, pushing yourself technically and artistically and most importantly do not lose confidence in yourself and your abilities. If you are confident in yourself, other people will be too!
Where would you like to be this time next year and how will you measure your progress over the year?
I would like to end my first season with more experience and knowledge; about dance, about new repertoire, new styles and about myself, my body and who I am as a dancer. I wish to become a better version of myself through observing my colleagues and learning from a variety of new coaches and teachers along the way.
