RISING Mount Isa ballet star Will McIntosh may not have heard of the late, great Rudolf Nureyev but the eight-year-old is on the way to stardom of his own.
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Will is one of 10 finalists from 648 entries across Queensland for the Suncorp Wish Upon a Ballet Star competition.
Will’s mother Helen McIntosh said she entered her son as the prize offered a unique opportunity to dance with Queensland’s leading ballet performers, including male role models.
“We have a great dance school here but we have limited access to the city’s wealth of cultural events due to our remoteness,” she said. “It would be fantastic to have a Mount Isa winner. We want to help him follow his dream and this opportunity shows that his dreams are achievable and realistic.”
Mrs McIntosh said Will asked to join the dance school for two years before she signed him up. From 18 months old, Will’s favourite TV show was So You Think you Can Dance.
The year 3 Barkly Highway State School pupil’s idol from the show was Sam – a country boy and also the only male dancer at his school.
Will’s sister Ariahn, 6, is also a ballet dancer and entered in the competition but was upstaged by her older brother.
Mrs McIntosh had always wondered what prompted Will to take up ballet, but early on there were signs of his love of dancing.
“He’s always had a great sense of rhythm and he never stops moving,” she said.
“He absolutely loves it and wants to travel the world and dance.
“He’s always loved dancing; he did Tap Pups [the younger version of Tap Dogs] when we lived in Newcastle, and danced with Sally Hare from So You Think You Can Dance 2014.”
One of the 10 finalists will be awarded a walk-on role in Queensland Ballet’s The Nutcracker.
“Performing the Nutcracker would be awesome because it’s one of my favourite ballets,” Will said.
“When I first started to dance I really got into it, and then I just started to make my own moves and I just went with it.’’
Will said his favourite ballet move was the pirouette, but he also loved hip-hop, with his pet moves the coffee grinder and helicopter.
Will will also perform in The Guardians – a performance by the Mount Isa School of Dance – at the Mount Isa Civic Centre on Friday and Saturday nights. Tickets are available from Outback at Isa.
To support Will, vote by visiting Queensland Ballet’s Facebook page, at facebook.com/
QldBallet/, under the ‘Wish Upon a Ballet Star Comp’ tab, and click the Vote button on Will’s photo.
He can’t win without your help.
