We were thrilled to welcome back Old Collegian Joshua Ballinger (SPC 2016-18, PY2021) to St Pat鈥檚 last week.
Joshua, a member of the West Australian Ballet Corps de Ballet and 2023 recipient of our Old Collegians鈥� Association Young Achiever Award, toured the Performing Arts Centre with College Principal Steven O鈥機onnor 鈥� and Joshua even had the chance to see his young brother, current Year 7 student Xxavier!
Joshua is currently in the third year of dancing for the West Australian Ballet.
“I joined in 2023 as a young artist and at the end of that year I was promoted to company artist, ” Joshua said.
“Currently we鈥檙e about to open a brand-new contemporary ballet called ‘Butterfly Effect’ which has been created on us by Alice Topp, one of Australia鈥檚 most celebrated choreographers of recent times. Opening night is Friday 5 September, which is exciting. Also coming in late November, we鈥檙e putting on a production of Cinderella which I鈥檓 personally looking forward to a lot!
“For my personal career, I still have a strong focus on improvement as I think I still have much more in me that I can achieve through some good hard work. I鈥檒l still hopefully have a long career ahead of me so improving my stage presence and artistry as I keep performing is something I look forward to during season.”
Joshua said he was enjoying his experience out west.
“It鈥檚 been great here, there鈥檚 ample opportunities available and I鈥檝e done my best to take advantage of them all.
“I鈥檝e had the privilege to dance some exciting roles in ballets like Romeo and Juliet and Don Quixote. I鈥檝e also choreographed two of my own works for the company which I believe were quite successful and I鈥檓 very proud to have created those under a professional company.”
Joshua was home during a well-deserved three-week break in July to see his family.
“It was a real treat to have been taken through a tour of the new Performing Arts Centre,” Joshua said.
“Ever since joining St Pat’s in 2016, I believe that one of its greatest strengths is that it鈥檚 competitive in every field, so no matter what skill you have to offer, you can have success at St Pats.
“Now that the school has a dedicated state-of-the-art facility for the arts, I think it shows proof of the commitment to nurture students in all areas and to find a way for them to succeed in whatever they choose to do.
I also think it will encourage boys to get involved in the arts if it鈥檚 not something they鈥檝e explored before – and I might be biased – but I can only see that as a good thing for the students.”
We thank Joshua for taking the time to visit and inspire the next generation of Paddy boys. We wish him all the best in his ongoing journey!
