Wow.  It’s hard to describe the magnitude of my feelings when I look back on my graduation at the end of June.  I’ve graduated from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy after four years of intensity I never dreamed I would ever experience.  I am now only the third British female student to graduate from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in its 243-year history! I have my Diploma, I’ve taken my bags, and I’ve left the Academy as a graduate. If you’d like to follow my career as a professional classical dancer, go over to my Instagram page here.

The experience was one I shall never forget; being handed my diploma by our Director, Marina Konstantinova Leonova, in my graduation outfit I’ve had picked out since December with my fellow graduates and friends!

The ceremony took place on the Academy’s stage which was lined with a red carpet and a red velvet backdrop adorned with a huge 217″ to mark us as the 217th graduating year.  It was a wonderful to sit there upon the stage letting the accomplishments of the year sink in.

I was really pleased with my exam results that formed the basis for my diploma.  I received fives (out of five) for my vocational exams and five with a distinction for my academics.  In addition, I received the certificate for my second level Russian language exam.

The ceremony glowed with a bitter-sweet energy as I realised this was the last time I would be with many of these teachers and fellow students.  We also celebrated afterwards at Chips in Moscow – sat on the rooftop watching Moscow light up in the dusk was a fitting farewell to the Academy.

I will always be grateful for the value of the experience and knowledge I have gained during my training at the Academy.  Now I feel suitably prepared for the next step on this path that my love for classical dance has taken me.