New Dancers for QB

Company changes at Queensland Ballet for 2017

Queensland Ballet will welcome 3 new company dancers next year, as well as eight new dancers into the Young Artists program and the promotion of some of the 2016 Young Artists.

Artistic Director Li Cunxin said it was great to see the Company continue to grow.
“Next year will see us bring on both Australian and international dancers and we couldn’t be happier with the diverse and talented group of dancers we have on board for our enchanting and captivating Season 2017,” Mr Li said.
“We’ll be welcoming three new female dancers to our Company with each of them bringing great experience from international ballet companies.
“I’m delighted that Lucy Green will be joining us from Royal New Zealand Ballet (RNZB). Lucy has been dancing with RNZB since 2010 and has always stood out to me as one of their most incredible dancers. She will join us as a Soloist and we’re so pleased she’ll be part of our Company.
“Lou Spichtig is a very talented young dancer who comes to us from Zürich Youth Ballet and was a gold medallist at both the Youth America Grand Prix and Varna International Ballet Competition.
“It’s a pleasure to also be welcoming an Aussie dancer back home who has been dancing overseas for the last four years. Serena Green is originally from Sydney, trained in London and has been dancing at Balet Narodni Divadlo Brno in the Czech Republic.”
Three former Jette Parker Young Artists will be promoted to the Company: Samuel Packer, Wu Ze and D’Arcy Brazier. 2016 Young Artist Yayoi Matches will also stay on for some of our early seasons next year as an extra Company Dancer. Also joining the 2017 Jette Parker Young Artists will be Patrick Bruppacher from Zürich Youth Ballet, Suguru Otsuka from Hamburg Ballet School and Kihiro Kusukami and Peter Vassili from the Australian Ballet School.
Queensland Ballet is also pleased to see the success of their Pre-Professional Program (PPP) with several students moving into the Jette Parker Young Artists Program in 2017: Libby-Rose Niederer, Paige Rochester and Chiara Gonzalez. They will be joined by Karla Florez who has guested with the Company throughout 2016.
Of course, newcomers means that other dancers will be leaving Queensland Ballet and Young Artists to pursue other career interests, and the QB farewell Harry Davis, Zoe Doonar, Tim Neff, Harley Campbell, Zacharie Dun along with company dancer Tara Schaufuss.

LUCY GREEN – Soloist

Lucy Green was born in Sydney and graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts before joining the Royal New Zealand Ballet in 2010.
Lucy has performed many principal and lead roles during her time with RNZB including Cinderella, Giselle and Swan Lake.
She has performed internationally with RNZB including tours to China, US, UK and Italy. In 2015 Lucy was invited by Scotland Ballet to perform as a Guest Principal Artist in the RNZB’s production of Cinderella.
In Queensland Ballet and RNZB’s recent co-production of Liam Scarlett’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Lucy danced the role of Titania and worked with Liam to create the role of Mustard Seed.
The NZ Listener praised Lucy’s performance in Benjamin Millepied’s 28 Variations on a Theme by Paganini (2012) as ‘dazzlingly fluid’, with the New Zealand Herald declaring ‘every inch of her a stunning new star on the rise.’

SERENA GREEN – Company Dancer

Serena Green was born in Australia and began her ballet training at McDonald College of Performing Arts before being accepted in to the English National Ballet School (ENBS) in 2010. She graduated from ENBS in 2012 and accepted an offer from Balet Narodni Divadlo Brno (Balet NdB) in the Czech Republic.
Serena has been dancing with Balet NdB ever since and performed numerous Principal roles including Myrtha, Queen of the Willis in Giselle, Snow Queen in The Nutcracker and Russian Girl in Serenade.
She has also performed Soloist roles in Swan Lake, Bayadera, The Nutcracker, Serenade, and Petite Mort.

LOU SPICHTIG – Company Dancer

Swiss born Lou Spichtig trained at the Zürich Dance Academy graduating in 2015. After graduating she was accepted in to the Ballet Zürich Junior Company.

Lou has received numerous international ballet awards including three awards at the 27th Varna International Ballet Competition and Best Swiss Candidate and Audience Favourite at the 2015 Prix De Lausanne. She was also recognised with various awards that the South African International Ballet Competition in 2014 and the 2013 Youth America Grand Prix.
Lou’s classical ballet experience includes roles in Romeo & Juliet, Woyzeck, Swan Lake, Giselle, La Fille Mal Gardee and Sleeping Beauty.