HUNTER-raised ballerina Evangeline Beal-Attwood has been dancing for most of her life, but still feels a rush whenever she is on stage.
"At the start it's always a bit nerve-wracking as you have all the lights and you've got your costume on, it's very different to the studio where there's no lights or anything," Evangeline said.
"It's just such a magical thing, you really go into this whole other world. To feel you're showing the audience what you're here for and they absolutely love it - it's great."
Evangeline, 18, is a student at the Australian Ballet School in Melbourne and preparing for her role in its three performances of Butterfly, at The Concourse in Chatswood on June 17 and 18.
Set to the score Le Papillon by Jacques Offenbach, it follows Jack, who is vying for the attention of Sophie, the smartest girl in school. While on an excursion to the butterfly enclosure at the zoo they immerse themselves in the kingdom of butterflies and embark on a transformative journey.
Evangeline plays a pink butterfly for two shows competing with a blue butterfly for Jack's attention and is in the 12-strong corps de ballet for another show.
"She's a funny, little, sassy, cheeky character," she said. "It's great to have two different roles that I can delve into and create kind of my own character as the pink butterfly, can put my own little tweaks and things onto it, it's been really fun creating that role and delving into my acting skills."
She originally had a smaller role when the shows were meant to be performed last July, before they were rescheduled due to COVID. She said it would be a "very special moment" having her parents from Medowie, three of her four siblings and some former ballet teachers in the audience.
"To show them what we've been working on for so long will be such a rewarding feeling," she said. "Butterfly is a very stylistic ballet, it's not like a normal traditional ballet, it's got contemporary and classical elements, it's a whole different world as an audience member and a dancer - when you watch it it's like something you've never really seen before."
Evangeline started classical ballet aged two and joined the National College of Dance in Lambton aged five.
"I just have such a love for this art form," she said.
"Every day is different and each day I can continue to grow as a dancer... some days you're so frustrated with yourself or you don't think you can do it, but then you soon realise at the end that it's all worth it and if you put the hard work in you'll get to where you want to be.
"It's for a reason - it's not just doing it for nothing."
This is Evangeline's graduating year, the last before she auditions for roles as a professional dancer.
"It's an exciting, busy, big year ahead, it's all about performing and getting ready to go out in that big wide world and fend for yourself.
"You don't have those teachers there anymore, it's all about you as a dancer and trying to work for yourself."
Evangeline said she is hoping to get into the Australian Ballet or Queensland Ballet, but hasn't ruled out flying to Europe to audition for companies.
She received a scholarship to attend the Royal Danish Ballet Summer School for five weeks in 2019 and was auditioning for European ballet schools when the pandemic started.
She accepted an offer to attend the Berlin State Ballet School from August 2020 but soon moved to the English National Ballet School.
Due to a visa complication she flew home and started at the Australian Ballet School in January 2021.
"Ever since I've absolutely loved it and I'm so glad that all that happened and it led me to here, because I feel like it was meant to be."
