Harry Ashton-Ireland – Making his Dream a Reality

Harry is currently a year 11 student at Springs-Waiōrea, he has been accepted to the New Zealand School of Dance, as a full time student in  2021.

Ever since I was a toddler, I was always dancing frantically around the house and making up “dances” to the various pieces of music my parents would play to me. However, it wasn’t until I was 4 years old that I was officially put into my first ballet classes upon the recommendation of a family friend who suggested them after she heard about my dancing addiction. It wasn’t long until I fell in love with the strength yet delicacy required for the art-form, and decided that I would work to make this my future courier. 

Twelve years later and I still carry that same dream, however now this dream is closer to reality as I begin my full-time ballet training next year at the New Zealand School of Dance. Prior to this achievement, I have competed in various dance competitions throughout New Zealand and Australia – one of them being the Youth American Grand Prix Semi-Finals in Melbourne. This competition is said to be the biggest in the ballet world as it tours around 25 different countries, handing out various scholarships and placements into world-class ballet schools. Whilst competing in the melbourne branch, I was lucky enough to be offered a 3 week scholarship to the Houston Ballet Academy, acceptance into the 6 week long Bolshoi Ballet Summer Intensive and acceptance into the International Summer School held in Italy in which school/company directors from all over the world tutor you for 2 weeks. 

These achievements would not have been possible without the constant support I receive from my family, friends and ballet teachers who are always providing me with the help and assistance that is needed to maintain such a hectic lifestyle as this – It really is a team effort, and I seriously don’t think I would be able to of made it this far without them. 

Western Springs College’s artistic virtues have meant that the outside commitments needed for a dancer my age have been supported. As well as this, all the teachers here have openly been willing to work with me to ensure that my crazy schedule and life does not cause me to fall behind in my school work making my time at Springs a lot more enjoyable.  

“We wish Harry the very best and look forward to watching him progress outside Springs”.

Ms Yang (form teacher)