“Like She’s Dancing On Ice”

Local ballerina Ruby Elson has set herself apart from the rest and earned a place at the prestigious Australian School of Ballet.

After just two years of pursuing the genre, the 10-year-old rising star who seems to float on stage and trained alongside the renowned Claudia Dean – a Royal Ballet alumni with years of expertise in the craft – achieved her dream of heading to the national centre for elite classical dance next year.

Ruby received her successful application letter in September, and the hours of extra-curricular training, passion, and extraordinary drive were finally rewarded.

“We had prepared her that she might not make it – that she was competing against all these others from across Australia who wanted to be ballerinas – and at her age, too,” her mother, Mei Elson said.

“When we read the letter that she’d been accepted, I cried, she cried, and my husband cried – I’ve never seen him do that.”

Ruby will head to the Melbourne-based school – Australia’s premier training facility for the genre  to train part-time until the age of 13, being re-assessed each year to remain at the famed institution, when she will graduate to a full-time curriculum.

Her mother said the true thing that separates her is her work ethic and her perseverance.

“I’m so proud of her,” Mei said.

“I’m so inspired by how incredible she is; she’s so driven to train, to be better and it’s just unbelievable to watch.”

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