Gone are the days when professional training was impossible for locally-based dancers. Jo Caruana visits the Malta Youth Ballet Foundation, now celebrating two years since its first intake of full-time students.
It’s 9.30 on a Monday morning and I watch as a class of senior dancers plié, pas de chat and pirouette through a lively routine that leaves me exhausted just looking at them; it’s way more activity than I’m used to this early in the day.
That said, it is me who is the odd one out as the dancers work effortlessly through their routine, led by their French tutor Donatien Ravet. They are also watched by dance teacher and Malta Youth Ballet Foundation (MYBF) president Johane Casabene, who is spearheading their course.
She is the woman who fought long and hard to develop full-time training for dancers in Malta, and these six girls, aged around 17, are the course’s first students.
Casabene was actually in-spired to launch the foundation because of her own experiences in the industry, and it is a project she has worked on for 14 years.
“As a young dancer in Malta several years ago I had to go overseas to complete my full-time training, because it simply wasn’t offered here,” she says. “I would probably have loved to stay here but it simply wasn’t an option if I wanted to follow my dreams.”
And although, in recent years, a few dance schools had begun to offer a higher level of train-ing, this was still part-time and Casabene insists that this would rarely be enough to encourage a student into a full-time dance career.
“The typical story is that most local dancers, despite their talent, will stop once they reach the O or A Level stage of their academic education because their priorities change,” she continues. “It’s usually at this point that dance becomes a hobby instead of a career path, especially as a occupation in dance doesn’t quite tick the traditional boxes for many parents; they would usually rather their child enrol on a conventional university course instead.”
On the flip side, a few of the really gifted students will want to continue towards a professional career. Previously, their only choice was to leave the island at the age of 16 or 17 so as to reach the required standard.
“After all, making it overseas is no mean feat, especially for females. The competition is very, very tough. Thus, part-time training simply won’t cut it in an international audition room,” she says.
It was with all of this in mind that Casabene wanted to kick-start a full-time local training programme for young Maltese dancers – and that is exactly how MYBF was born.
“We’re here to act as a trampoline,” she says, “propelling our students into the world of dance. They will work just as hard as they would on a foreign course but are able to stay at home in Malta, which will probably be much more comfortable for them and much more financially-achievable.
“Yes there are fees, and we would like to be able to offer the course for free, but it will certainly be much cheaper for them in the long run, as opposed to having to live and study in London, or another European city. The students even get stipends.”
First launched in 2012, the foundation operates as a voluntary organisation and is wholly focused on investing in young, promising dance students who want to train on a professional level and make dance their future career.
Part-time training simply won’t cut it in an international audition room
The resulting, home-grown two-year diploma course (which has now also been extended to a three-year degree course) is largely studio-based and practical, although there’s a degree of theory that is incorporated too.
It is open to students aged 15 and older who want to study at a professional level, and it is the only vocational dance institution offering a full-time course in Professional Dance, validated by the National Commission for Higher Education and internationally-recognised at EQF/MQF Level 5, in Malta.
The teaching staff is also of the highest standard – Casabene has had a dance career to be proud of, as has Ravet – a former étoile dancer for the Ballet of Marseille. They are accompanied by Anne-Laure Gosseline, another former étoile dancer and a graduate from the Paris Opera.
Taking a break from his class, Ravet tells me that he hopes this course will help to change the Maltese mentality towards dance. “This isn’t some kind of competition between schools; this is something new for Malta and the first course of its kind,” he says passionately.
“We’re not trying to undermine what other schools do but to change the general approach to professional dance in Malta. These girls are talented and they have a genuine chance at a professional career, whether internationally or here in the future. This is a vital step forward for dance in Malta.”
Agreeing, 17-year-old Lilia Gingell, who is now in her second year of ful-time training, believes that the course has made a genuine difference to her future career.
“If it hasn’t been for the MYBF I would have probably gone to an academic sixth form and focused on my studies,” she says. “That would have likely made it much harder for me to find time for dance and I may have had to reduce the hours I could dedicate to it, or even stop completely.
“This course means I can focus on ballet and other dance training. This is my career and I want to concentrate on neoclassical or contemporary dance. It would be my dream to work for a professionally company locally, although I will have to assess the opportunities available when I finish my training,” she says.
Malta Youth Ballet Foundation’s Diploma in Professional Dance will take in new students in September. Applicants must have a minimum of six O Levels and a school-leaving certificate.