Aurora Dickie
AURORA DICKIE, of Pernambuco, Brazil, returns to The Washington Ballet after a brief hiatus. She began training at age five with her mother and teacher Jane Dickie. At age 11, she was awarded a five-year full scholarship at the Bolshoi School in Brazil where she studied under the tutorship of Galina Kravtchenko and had the opportunity to take classes as a trainee with the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow. Ms. Dickie has worked with the Cisne Negro Cia de Dança, São Paulo, Brazil in 2006 and was a member of Cia de Dança de São Jose dos Campos, São Paulo under the direction of Ricardo Scheir before joining The Washington Ballet’s Studio Company in 2007. In April of 2007, she won the bronze medal at YAGP finals in NYC, and was invited afterward to perform at the Miami Ballet Festival in the Gala of International Young Medal Winners in September 2007. During her leave from TWB, she worked with São Paulo Companhia de Dança and completed one semester at Universidade Paulista in the Psychology graduate program.
QUESTION & ANSWER
TWB: How did you spend your summer?
Aurora: I started my summer having a foot surgery. Great start right?! Yes, actually the surgery was very well done and successful. I spent the beginning of my summer in DC recovering, taking care of my foot, doing a lot of physical therapy and enjoying time with my mother, who came all the way from Brazil to help me get throught the surgery. In July, after my mom was gone and I was able to walk and do more exercises, I started slowly taking ballet classes, pilates and some gyrotonics sessions. Besides that, I enjoyed the hot weather in DC and getting together with my friends to grill and have a good time. Then in August, I went back to Brazil for 4 weeks. I had an amazing time there with my friends and family. It was definetely necessary go back home after a year to recharge my batteries and get ready to start a new season.
TWB: What is it like to come back to the studio after a summer off ? What are some of the challenges you face physically and emotionally on a daily basis?
Aurora: For me personally, being able to come back to the studios and dance again with everyone after a risky surgery is the happiest thing that could happen to me. All the time spent with physical therapy sessions and training during the summer was worth it. I am still in recovery, so I still need to be careful with some movements and be smart, but the feeling of dancing without the pain that I had before is amazing!!
Although I am happy to be back to the studios, there is something missing there. It is very sad to be around everyone and don't see our beloved John Goding. He is being missed a lot.
TWB: What do you find most exciting and/or daunting about starting a new season ?
Aurora: I think the most exciting thing about a new season is be together with your colleagues again and meeting the new members of the company.
