Expat ballerina from the Sultanate making it big in Europe

MUSCAT: A resident of Oman has taken the next step in achieving her dreams, after she was accepted into the world-renowned John Cranko Ballet Academy in Stuttgart, Germany.

Ten-year-old Maria Christina Frumau, a Dutch-Russian dual citizen, was accepted into the prestigious school after formally studying ballet at the Ballet and Folklore Centre in Muscat, having joined Principal Alena Mikhaelovna Deeks’ setup at the tender age of 7.

While many prospective students do find it difficult to enter the prestigious John Cranko academy, Frumau was unfazed by the daunting task ahead of her, and needed only 15 minutes of her one and a half hour audition to convince her future teachers of her skill and prowess.

Good grades

In addition, her grades were also well above those required to gain admission into the academy, and that only seemed to impress her examiners even further.

“Joyous from the knowledge that she had been accepted into the school, Frumau joined an intensive summer camp organised by the Brussels International Ballet School,” said Deeks.

“The artistic director suggested he would assist Maria’s, if she so wished, entry into the prestigious Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia, which is probably the number one Academy in the world.”

“Moments later Maria was approached by a ballet maestro from the Paris Grande Opera Academy, France, with a request to come to Paris and join the Academy,” she added. “Earlier in the summer Maria had attended a ballet camp in Holland, organised by the Den Haag Classical Ballet Academy under the patronage of the Anna Pavlova Foundation. Tatiana Vasilieva, a former ballerina with the Moscow Bolshoi and now the director of the Den Haag Acade- my, highly praised Maria’s ability.”

Under the tutelage of Deeks and Natella Daditchkiliani, a former dancer of the world-famous Bolshoi theatre company in Moscow, Frumau’s potential was quickly noticed by her teachers and parents alike.

Maria was accepted after only fifteen minutes of what was to have been a one and a half hour audition

Enthralling performances

With several enthralling performances already in her repertoire, such as Amour from Don Quixote, A Joyous Dancer from the Ballet Flame of Paris, Masha from Nutcracker and other variations from the renowned Swan Lake opera, Frumau is on her way to achieving her dreams of becoming a member of the Royal Ballet, based out of Covent Garden in London, by age 18.