Thirteen-year-old Phoebe Schembri is the first Maltese student to dance with the Paris Opera School of Dance. She tells Jo Caruana about the first steps that are taking her on the way to becoming an international ballerina.

Phoebe Schembri (right). Photo: George Abdilla

These days there are a plethora of opportunities available to arts students keen to expand their horizons overseas. From summer schools to scholarships, internationally-renowned organisations regularly hold open auditions and more and more young people are choosing to take part.

One such student is Phoebe Schembri, a long-time ballerina at the Brigitte Gauci Borda School of Ballet (BGBSB). In fact, although only in her very early teens, Schembri has already made her mark on the dance world, both locally and internationally.

Schembri first began her dance training when she was just three and also trained in artistic gymnastics until she was nine. “My earliest dance memory is of when I was five and rehearsing for my first show, Thumbelina,” she says with a smile. “I recall being very excited because I’d been chosen to lead the dance.”

Another highlight came a couple of years later when she played the Black Swan in the school’s 20th anniversary performance of Swan Lake. “Working on that with the principal dancers from Russia and Japan was absolutely fantastic,” she says.

Throughout that time Schembri, now 13, showed great promise. She consistently secured a ‘distinction’ in her exams and even impressed one of her examiners so much that she awarded her a summer school scholarship in Italy in 2010.

“That made me realise that I want to dance more than anything else,” Schembri continues, adding that she hasn’t slowed down since, having attended several overseas training opportunities. When asked about what she enjoys the most, though, Schembri provides a very mature answer.

“Performing,” she says, referring primarily to her recent role as Gretel in Hansel and Gretel for BGBSB. “I appreciate all the hard work and responsibility associated with a lead role and I love the reward of an appreciative audience.”

And although still very young, Schembri is firmly focused on her progress as a dancer. She believes her focus will help her to forge a career in this competitive industry. As a result she puts in the kind of dedication that is usually associated with dancers far older than herself. She takes dance lessons six times a week and attends an international summer school every summer, the most recent of which was the at the prestigious Paris Opera Ballet School.

“I know this isn’t enough to make me achieve my dream of becoming a world performer, but I have been told my teachers abroad that I am on the right track,” she says.

It’s important for young dancers to look at what’s happening beyond our shores

Of course, dancing for the Paris Opera is every ballerina’s dream... so that was another step in the right direction. The school only recently launched its summer school and it was on the suggestion of Tanya Bayona, a guest teacher of Schembri’s, and with the support of Gauci Borda and her parents, it was agreed that it would be a good opportunity for her.

With the decision taken, the young dancer then auditioned via a series of videos and was pitted against thousands of other applicants from around the world, with only a few places up for grabs. After a gruelling few rounds she was accepted as the first Maltese student to ever dance with the Paris Opera School.

Aside from the obvious excitement of working with such a prestigious company, Schembri found that she was even inspired by the space itself.

“I was impressed by the many studios we had to work in as well as by how large they were,” she smiles. “Each one was named after a famous dancer or choreographer such as Petitpa or Darsonval and this proved to be a constant reminder of the environment we were working in.”

Her teachers too were famous ex-dancers of the Paris Opera and they contributed to the students’ gruelling schedule of four 90-minute lessons each day.

Beyond her classical ballet classes, Schembri was also given the opportunity to broaden her skills with classes such as ‘musicality and expression’, a module that was taught by the renowned Scott Alan Prouty, the artistic director of the Choir Sotto Voce in New York.

Aside from the range of opportunities, Schembri explains that she enjoyed dancing with other students her own age.

“Here in Malta I often dance with older students. For instance, this term I am starting Advanced 1 at BGBSB and most of the other girls will be 18. However, in Paris, I was dancing with other students my own age and from all over the world, including Australia, America, Canada, Japan, Israel and France. Rehearsing and performing in this group was extraordinary.

“It’s important for young dancers to look at what’s happening beyond our shores.

“There are so many talented dancers competing for places at big schools and it is thus necessary to realise what it means to be in a very competitive field.

“Whenever I attended these foreign schools I needed to perform at my very best all the time, as the teachers are used to only teaching the very best students. We do have that kind of talent in Malta, so it is important to push ourselves to the levels required,” she adds.