London tour retrospective: Jette Parker Young Artist Sophie Kerr

Our Jette Parker Young Artists have had the experience of a lifetime this year, travelling to London with Queensland Ballet Artistic Director, Li Cunxin, to perform in The Royal Ballet’s 2022 Next Generation Festival.

Sophie Kerr is one of 12 in the Jette Parker Young Artist program: an apprenticeship year for gifted young dancers at the start of their careers. Performing at the Royal Opera House on their first international tour, among rising stars from across the world, was an exhilarating opportunity, and a memory Sophie Kerr, who trained at Queensland Ballet Academy, says they will treasure. Read on for Sophie’s retrospective of this incredible experience.

The anticipation

I’ve always dreamed of going on tour with a ballet company. Never would I have thought that in my first year with Queensland Ballet, I would have the opportunity to travel to London for my first tour, which I am extremely grateful for. Being able to explore London whilst doing what I love is an experience I will never forget.

Backstage at the Royal Opera House

Backstage, the energy, anticipation, and nerves before performing creates a feeling of suspense and excitement. Everyone’s voices whispering ‘chookas’ and ‘good luck’ generates such an atmosphere. All of us ready for the cue to walk on stage quietly in the dark for the lights and music to turn on and see the audiences’ eyes curious as to what will happen next.

And then…walking onto the Royal Opera House Linbury Theatre stage was such a surreal experience. After travelling for 40 hours, the feeling of stepping onto the stage felt incredibly rewarding. Our faces lit up with excitement with the realisation that we were dancing at the world renowned-Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.

The works

I performed in The Appearance of Colour choreographed by Loughlan Prior, and in Natalie Weir’s Fallen. The Appearance of Colour combines movement, digital animation and puppetry. This great mix of ideas creates an effective piece that is quite challenging for us to execute. It was such a powerfully energetic ballet to open the show. Natalie’s work Fallen follows the emotional journey of a depleted man. I had the opportunity to perform the ‘lost lover’. I felt so connected to this character and loved how deeply I could dive into this role.

The London atmosphere

London was in the middle of the Jubilee celebrations! It was such an amazing time to be there. The streets were busy with excitement and painted with the British flag everywhere we looked. We were so fascinated by the beautiful London buildings that we spent much of our spare time exploring and sightseeing. Of course, I just couldn’t resist the shopping, and so coming home with a completely full suitcase was the cherry on top.

Favourite tour moment

My favourite moment of the tour (aside from exploring London!) would have to be performing onstage and in front of a live audience again. I could sense the appreciation from the audience and they gave us such warmth and generosity for each of the three shows.

As such a young professional dancer, I feel that this tour has been a stepping stone to building the maturity that is needed to develop in a company. The opportunity to work with Loughlan Prior and Natalie Weir and perform their pieces has helped me grow as a young artist and I hope to carry these invaluable experiences with me into my career.