What are your earliest memories of being interested in dance?
My first memories of watching ballet was “Barbie and the 12 dancing princesses” in which I would try copy the moves from the DVD and prance around my living room to the music. The DVD had a behind the scenes featurette with Maria Kowroski, a now retired principal ballerina with the New York City Ballet.
I remember her inspirational story about how she dedicated her life to this art form with the big tutus and pink pointe shoes and I wanted to be just like her. My first ballet lesson I showed up in leggings and a baggy T-shirt, instead of the traditional purple leotard, skirt, pink ballet socks and shoes…my teacher was horrified!
Did you get support at home or at school?
I am always grateful to my family who have supported me through every stage of my career. All the long drives to and from classes after school, all day Saturday rehearsals, early Sunday morning classes and competitions were worth every penny. I would certainly not be where I am today without the encouragement and commitment from my parents; they pushed me to be the best version of myself. I was also lucky to have been supported at both my academic and ballet schools in regard to progressing my training and my education simultaneously.
How did you develop your skills?
I attended various dance schools and programs in Northern Ireland where I progressed my RAD (Royal Academy of Dance) Vocational ballet grades along with additional open classes, contemporary classes and competing at festivals from a young age.
At age 9, I received a scholarship to perform Swan Lake with the English Youth Ballet at the Grand Opera House. This was a huge accomplishment and confidence boost for me, and was my first experience on a huge stage in a professional production.
I owe a lot of my progression and intense training years to High Points Youth Ballet, a ballet youth company and school based in Belfast which provides incredible training and performance opportunities for young students across Northern Ireland. As one of the first students of this school, I was lucky to perform main roles in many of their youth productions such as Marie and the Sugar Plum Fairy in ‘The Nutcracker’, Aurora in ‘The Sleeping Beauty’ and more recently returning as a Guest Artist in their 2022 production of ‘Swan Lake’ as Odette.
This video was filmed in 2018 and captures the first time Rachel Neale met her teacher Jake Allison from High Points Youth Ballet.
Did you do any tertiary study?
At the same time I was studying for my GCSEs, I was auditioning for the UK’s top ballet schools to gain a place on a full-time vocational training program. In 2020, I successfully auditioned for Central School of Ballet in London, one of Europe’s leading centres for ballet training, where I studied for 3 years as a full-time ballet student.
I danced 6 days a week for 8 hours each day, improving my ballet technique and artistry as well as various dance styles, dealing with injuries and life as a young dance student in London. During my training, I had many performance opportunities including dancing a flamenco piece in the Unite for Ukraine Gala in 2022 at Sadlers Wells in London.
In my final year, I toured all over the UK with Ballet Central, from May to July 2023, performing an exciting program of classical and contemporary pieces, with a new commission ‘The Queue’ by Morgann Runacre-temple. I was 1 of 3 couples to be chosen to perform Sir Fredrich Ashton’s beautiful “The Two Pigeons” pas de deux on the tour, which was one of the most challenging but rewarding pieces I have ever performed.
One of my highlights at Central was performing the iconic The Music and The Mirror solo from the hit Broadway show ‘A Chorus Line’ for my graduation solo in July 2023, where I graduated with a BA Honours Degree in Dance and Performance. I am so grateful for the amazing years I had at Central School of Ballet, and the knowledge I gained from my tutors and friends.