FORMER professional ballerina Emma Cheeseman is hoping to pass her skills onto the next generation of dancers.
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The Bendigo-born performer is hoping to grow her students base at The Extension Ballet Studio after a successful first year of operation.
Since then she has seen her business grow with her 2021 culminating with a well-received performance of The Nutcracker in December.
"It was definitely a successful year considering the pandemic," Ms Cheeseman said. "I didn't go into with heaps of expectations, I was just hoping to get through the first year knowing we would be in lockdown.
"So I was keeping an open mind but towards the end of the year I didn't think we would be able to do a live performance. The fact we were able to run full timetable for most of the year and able to put on end of year production was great."
During lockdown, Emma hosted Zoom lesson to allowed her students to learn their roles adn choreography for The Nutcracker.
"It was the first time I was in charge of a show by myself and I had some great volunteers helping," she said.
"It was a rewarding experience considering we had all of term 3 in lockdown. We were on Zoom doing classes and choreography. It was great to put on the show at the end of term 4 end and get great reviews after being on for a live audience."
Looking forward into 2022, Ms Cheeseman hopes to grow her student base starting with a Summer School program on January 14 and 15.
"I would love to expand our numbers, especially in the middle and older age groups," she said. "Summer school is a two-day event that is a great opportunity for new students to see what we are about and a get feel for it.
"We have guest teachers coming from Melbourne to do some technique and body conditioning classes. It is open to all student - you don't have to be currently enrolled.
"We take on everybody from absolute beginners but I am aiming to train more vocational-minded students who might want pursue a career."
Ms Cheeseman grew up in Bendigo, training as a dancer in the region before pursuing further training in Melbourne and Brisbane. She worked with Melbourne City Ballet for five years before moving back to establish The Extension Ballet Studio.
"I am passionate about offering strong ballet training (to regional students)," she said. "I felt, when growing up, that i had to go to Melbourne for extra training.
"There are a lot more opportunities now for kids to pursue a career in the arts. One of my biggest aims is to bridge the gap between regional training and Melbourne (opportunities)."
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