Local favourites, sharing their insider tips on places and things to do on and around Tamborine Mountain – Your gold coast hinterland!

Georgia Lorange has lived all 13 years of her life on Tamborine Mountain, and has been dancing for most of it.

Tell us a little about your life.

I first started dancing when I was three years old at Tamborine Mountain Dance Academy, where I took classes in ballet, tap, contemporary, and jazz. I continued dancing there for seven years, but when I realised I wanted my main focus to be ballet, I moved to a full time ballet school. I now train full time at Classical Coaching Australia in Brisbane, which shares the same director as Brisbane City Youth Ballet.

What do you love about ballet?

I love the hard training and pushing myself to my limits. It is an extremely hard career to pursue, but that makes it even more worthwhile to see the results of all the hard work you have put into it.

But the main reason I love ballet is performing. I love everything about it: the music, the sets, the costumes, even the nerves I get, and of course the excitement. I love spending all the rehearsal time figuring out how to portray the story and my character in my expressions and movement.

That is what all my training and hard work is for.

What shows have you performed in?

I first successfully auditioned for the Brisbane City Youth Ballet in 2017 when I was nine years old. That year, I performed in The Magic Faraway Tree, Alice in Wonderland, and The Nutcracker. I absolutely loved everything about it! I auditioned again last year for The Nutcracker and couldn’t believe it when I was offered the main role of Clara. We performed seven sold-out shows at the Brisbane Powerhouse last December and it was the most amazing experience I’ve ever had! I also got to dance the role of the Dormouse in Alice in Wonderland in January and the Snow Goose in The Snow Queen at the HOTA just a couple of weeks ago. This was my first role en pointe in a full scale ballet production.

What are your greatest achievements so far?

Being accepted into the Queensland Ballet Associate Program and the Australian Ballet’s Interstate/International Training Program. Also, receiving a scholarship to the Princess Grace Academy in Monaco, and being awarded the Leanne Benjamin Ballet Scholarship at the end of last year was so exciting. In 2020, I was the youngest person, at age 12, to complete a Certificate II in Dance.

How has COVID-19 affected your life?

Covid has been both good and bad for me. When we were in lockdown last year, the Youth American Grand Prix held Zoom classes with company ballet school directors from all over the world, and I was lucky enough to be given a scholarship by Luca Masala, director of the Princess Grace Academy. The bad side of it, performance-wise, is that The Snow Queen at the HOTA had to be postponed when the three-day lockdown overlapped with the original date. Thankfully, it was still able to go ahead a week later with 100% capacity. Alice in Wonderland at the Powerhouse was reduced to 50% capacity earlier this year.

What are some challenges?

Working on my mindset is my main challenge at the moment. Ballet requires you to have grit, both physically and mentally. I’ve missed out on many things but I just have to pick myself up and turn my disappointment into drive.

What are some interesting facts about yourself?

I became vegan in 2019 after I watched ‘The Game Changers’ on Netflix. This documentary showed the benefits of eating plant-based foods as an athlete. I also do this for the environment and because I’ve always felt bad when eating meat as I absolutely love animals and don’t want to hurt them in any way.

I have been unschooled (not following a set curriculum) since Grade 3, which has allowed me to pursue creative projects and spend more time with my family.

I volunteer at the Tamborine Mountain Landcare Piccabeen Bookshop with my Mum on a casual basis and have done this for the last three years.

I probably saw more musicals before I turned eight than any other child – ever! I have seen Wicked (in three different cities), My Fair Lady, Singing in the Rain, Aladdin, Cats, The Sound of Music, and many more. I’m even going to see West Side Story just this week! Some of the greatest memories I have is my Mum and I going to see a new musical. We would get all dressed up, and of course critique it afterwards. Our all time favourite is Wicked. It will be something we will always do together.

What do you do for fun?

Ballet takes up most of my time but I love digital art, playing badminton, crafting, going on walks, baking cakes with my grandmother, reading, listening to music, and creating new things.

What kind of music do you like?

I love movie soundtracks and instrumentals. Music has always been a huge part of my life and is one of the reasons I love dancing so much. I think my love of music comes from my Dad who is a professional musician.

What do you see in your future?

I want to be able to dance professionally in one of the top ballet companies – as a Principal dancer, of course!