LOCAL New
York, New York
Start spreading the news - former MJ dancer and Grant High School student Matthew Cram is leaving on September 14 to continue pursuing his dancing dream. The 19 year old is New York bound after securing a merit scholarship for one of the United States’ most prestigious ballet school – the Joffrey Ballet School. The four year program starts with a nine month intensive training course
after which dancers can leave if they secure a professional position. Matthew is the first MJ dancer to secure a place in an international program and is the next step in a journey that first took him to Sydney. It was last year that Matthew, along with fellow MJ alumni Maddy Macera, took off to Sydney after securing a position in the newly established Jason Winters Contemporary Technique
course at Sydney’s famed Brent Street Studios. “That was a real eye opener, it was really hard,” Matthew said. “We were dancing from 8 till 5 which I loved. It took a while to get used to but now I really miss it and I can’t wait to get back to dancing every day.” Matthew graduated from that course, which was ballet and contemporary based, but until the Joffrey opportunity, the next chapter of his dancing career had eluded him eight months on from graduation. “I saw the scholarship on a dance website and thought I would go for it,” Matthew said. “I had refused to leave Sydney because I was so determined to make a go of my dancing.” Matthew had got down to the last round of casting for Moulin Rouge and Tokyo Disney but just where his dancing would lead next was still unclear until the scholarship discovery. A day long Sydney audition than included a ballet class, a contemporary audition and an interview saw Matthew secure the scholarship – he is one of five Australians heading to the Joffrey Ballet School this year. There was a month lag time between the audition and that all
important call to say he had been accepted. “Mum was with me when I got the call and she was just crying, she was so happy,” Matthew said. “My parents have been so supportive of me in pursuing this dream and it hasn’t been cheap and it hasn’t been easy but they have backed me the whole way to stick at it.” Now they will be farewelling their son, who is leaving for what is his first trip overseas. “So many people have said to me how brave I am to be doing this on my own
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but I haven’t even really thought about it,” Matthew said. “All I care about is this is the next big step in my career.” Working on his ballet is also a smart move – it is the technique basis for all dance and there will still be time for some contemporary work as well as classical in his time at Joffrey. When Matthew left for his Brent Street course in Sydney, he wanted to join a contemporary dance company and that is still the long term goal, although he is also seriously considering
spending some time on the cruise ship circuit to build up his finances. “You dance every day, you get to see the world and everyone I’ve talked to said it’s just a great lifestyle with good pay,” he said. But for now, Matthew, who spent seven years at Mount Gambier’s MJ Dance Studio, is setting himself for his New York adventure and working hard for at least nine months to continue his dance development. Courtesy of his work in national competitions
throughout his MJ career, Matt does know one fellow dancer and a teacher that currently live in New York, so while he will know no one at Joffrey, he will have a couple of familiar faces in his new home city. “Everyone will be in the same boat though and if it’s like the course in Sydney, we all just clicked and got along and looked after each other,” he said. Photos courtesy of Kurt Sneddon (Blueprint Studios).