Little ballerina, big dreams
Molly Fletcher has big dreams – she’s going to be a midwife and New Zealand’s prime minister one day – but only after her career as a ballerina ends.
By then, she’ll be over 40 she reckons, and ready for a change from dancing.
At present, it’s her love for ballet and plans of dancing on stages in Paris, London and New York that inspire her to practise every day.
The Ha¯ wera nine-year-old, who goes to Normanby School, has been learning ballet since she was three.
‘‘I want to wear a tutu and pointe shoes and be the white swan in
Swan Lake,’’ she said.
Her enthusiasm has paid off already, with news this week she had been accepted to perform in the
Nutcracker with the New Zealand Royal Ballet in November.
The ballet company is touring New Zealand and working with young dancers at each place it performs.
Because it was not coming to Taranaki, Molly had auditioned for the Palmerston North show alongside 55 other youngsters.
The audition took an hour and a half.
Parents were not allowed in to watch but Molly said it had been fun.
‘‘There were just two rules, smile and breathe,’’ she said.
‘‘She was just as excited when she came out as when she went in,’’ her mother, Maz Fletcher said.
After that, it was a long few weeks wait to find out if she got into the show, but news of her success arrived in an email this week.
Molly and her mum will spend two days in Palmerston North in the school holidays and then go back every weekend for a day’s rehearsal, leading up to the November 28 show.
Before then, she has her annual ballet exams on September 13.
Molly dances in New Plymouth twice a week with Masterdance Studios, but learned for several years from Val Deakin Dance Theatre.
She got her first big role three years ago as Alice in Alice In Wonderland.