15 young people living through the biggest year of their lives, online and on Channel 4. Share their experiences and get involved…

Jade's Story

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Jade Heusen

It's back to school for Jade to start her graduating year

16/09/2008

It’s the morning of Jade’s first day back at school after the summer holidays. The next year at Elmhurst is going to be the most important of her life. For Jade, her graduating year is crunch time… Her goal is to get a contract with a classical ballet company at the end of it and to do this she needs to give ballet her absolute everything over the next 12 months…


Jade's to do list

  1. To achieve a contract with a classical ballet company
  2. Continue to learn more about the profession and prepare myself to enter it.
  3. Have opportunities to perform and work with the BRB (Birmingham Royal Ballet)
  4. To become not only a representative for ballet, but to be an inspiration to young people.
  5. To learn more about how to cope in a living situation and become an independent adult.
  6. To have a good role in the school production.
  7. To learn to put myself first more. Be healthily selfish.

Where Jade's at

Last updated: 30/06/2008

Hi there! My name is Jade and I’m from Sidmouth in Devon. I am an only child which has been a godsend for me as from the tender age of eleven I have lived away from home, training to become a ballerina, which demands huge parental support and time. Now at eighteen, I am stepping into the final year of my training (at Elmhurst School for Dance) which will ultimately decide the start of my dancing career as I will, hopefully, achieve a contract with a professional ballet company. I consider myself a very lucky girl as I have what I think is such a wonderful life. I have special parents, amazing friends and so many people who love and care for me and want me to do so well which I am eternally grateful for. I am also pursuing a life of everyday doing what I love, ballet, and am granted some incredible opportunities. I want people to realise, though, that my achievements haven’t just been handed to me on a plate; I have worked extremely hard for them and despite the overall beauty and splendor of it all, it is a rocky road that is full of emotional highs and lows and deals with pressures and stresses that even some adults wouldn’t have experienced.

Throughout the course of the year I aim to become a more established, individual dancer, ready to step into the ‘real’ world of ballet and discover what it is that differentiates a dancer in school/training and a professional dancer. These are the questions I hope to answer by having more experience of working with a company (like Birmingham Royal Ballet) or when I take auditions.

I like to think I am approachable and that people feel I can relate and understand to them. I have been head girl at both the Royal Ballet School (where I spent the first 5 years of my training) and Elmhurst School for Dance so hopefully this can prove or support this in some way. I invite people to discuss their issues with me as I enjoy listening and find it very rewarding helping people. My aim during this project is to openly discuss my honest thoughts with other people and perhaps have the opportunity to take advice as well as give it. If I can act as an inspiration or influential being for others of my generation then that would be a huge life achievement for me I hope that I can act as one of many figure-heads who represent youth of today in the positive way that we all so wish to be perceived.

Jade's journal

Last updated: 06/10/2008

Touring with Birmingham Royal Ballet

Hey there all!

I'm still alive! Just so busy working with BRB at the moment in their production of Beauty and the Beast at the Birmingham Hippodrome. I'm loving every minute and its such a unique and unbelievably exciting experience! Just completed the first run of the show (finishing today, Sunday.) Next week I have perfomances of the company's triple bill (also in Birmingham) and then after that I am going on tour with the company all over the UK. The touring dates and venues are listed below:

9 - 11 October = Birmingham Hippodrome

15 - 18 October = Theatre Royal, Plymouth

21 - 25 Oct = Wales Millenium Centre, Cardiff

28 Oct - 1 November = Sadler's Wells, London

4 - 8 November = Edinburgh Festival Theatre

The company is also touring to Sunderland but I shant be joining them there as far as I know at present.

If anyone does come to watch any of the shows, let me know and I can meet you at the Stage door either pre or post show.

As you can imagine with school and these shows/rehearsals going on I am extremely busy and my days long but when I do get the odd spare minute here and there I shall endeavour to post a blog or at least reply to the much appreciated messages!!!

Thank you for the views and I hope you are enjoying the Year Dot project - I certainly am!

Catch up soon......ish!!!

Jade xxx

Read all of Jade's blogs here

What you're saying

♥Buff♥ 24/11/2008

hiya jade its buff from elmhurst! how are you? are you enjoying leave out?
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*Lanny* 19/08/2008

I wish I had the same amount of talent and dedication as Jade!! I did ballet for 4 years and then ju...
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Eff 29/07/2008

Ahhh i feel priveliged (dno how to spell it:p) to be ur number 1! guess what .. i was wearing my Pre...
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Sam Thompson :) 08/07/2008

Hello was watching your video ur bloody good lol i obv don't know alot about ballet but hope your ye...
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