Felicity Hader is a former Ballerina with 25 years of International stage experience in leading roles with the worlds' top Ballet Companies, Directors and Choreographers. Felicity is a Choreographer as well as a Royal Academy of Dance qualified Teacher and experienced Adjudicator. She is also a Teaching Member of the Australian Institute of Classical Dance.
She is currently available for private lessons for e.g. Coaching, Open Ballet, Royal Academy of Dance Syllabus and also Choreographing new works and solos.
Biography
Felicity Hader trained in Sydney with Tanya Pearson OAM, Amanda Clerke, Marilyn Jones OBE as well as Chambers de Maria Academy with Principals of The Royal Ballet and The Australian Ballet. Felicity gained Honours marks for her classical RAD studies, her contemporary dance studies and her piano and music studies. Felicity also enjoyed learning jazz with Julie Dundon and loved competing with great success in numerous competitions and championships. Two highlights when she was 12 years of age were dancing the leading role in the Premiere of the 3 Act ballet , Thumbelina (Tanya Pearson) at the Glen Street Theatre and starring as Venus in the Contemporary ballet of The Planets (John Mullins) at the Sydney Opera House with the Australian Youth Orchestra. She also won innumerable dance competitions, including the special Bi-Centennial Dance Award at the City of Sydney.
After several offers of Scholarships, she took Konstanze Vernon’s offer at the prestigious Munich Ballet Academy. Her first teachers were the strict but wonderful Nora Shelesnova and then the brilliant Olga Lepeshinskaya (Bolshoi Ballet). She was the youngest to graduate and the youngest to gain a full contract at the Bavarian National Ballet (Bayerisches Staats Ballett). That same year, she was awarded Student of the Year at the school and Young Dancer of the Year in the Company.
For Felicity's graduating performance she starred as Pigtails in Graduation Ball (directed by Michel de Lutry previously Royal Ballet) and the lead role created for her by the wonderful and talented Heinz Manniegal in Hermann der Traumtänzer in the beautiful National Theatre, Munich. Her first performance at 16 years of age with the Company was the famous Pas de Deux in Flower Festival in Genzano,(Bournonville-Danish Royal Ballet). She was coached by the charming Dina Bjorn. She then went on to perform lead roles in, e.g Balanchine’s Symphony in C, Sir Peter Wright’s Sleeping Beauty, leading role as Pigtails in Graduation Ball, John Cranko's, Romeo and Juliet, Onegin and The Taming of the Shrew. Also modern ballets such as, Nils Christie's, Before Nightfall, Jiri Kylian’s Svadebka, Ed Wubbe's, Award winning choreography, Messias and Hans van Manen's Five Tangos. (Several of these lead roles she later danced in New York).
A highlight of Felicity's career was to be the only dancer chosen by Konsanze Vernon to fly to Stockholm to train with the Cullberg Ballet and be coached by Mats Ek for Giselle. She later went on to dance his version of Carmen and be coached by the famous Ana Laguna – Mats Ek's wife.
At 22 she was offered Principal Artist by Konstanze Vernon at Munich but she was also offered Principal Artist by Youri Vamos, after starring in his World Premiere of Shannon Rose at the Bavarian National Ballet, Munich. She later joined Vamos’ Company at Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Düsseldorf and had new roles created on her and starred in many new ballets. Felicity was thrilled to perform the Principal role of La Donna in Youri's Miraculous Mandarin at the La Fenice Festival in Venice, Italy. She was then invited by Eva Reinthaller to be Guest Artist as Tatiana, the lead role in Onegin and she later joined Eva Reinthaller's Company.
In her new Company at the Pfalztheater, new roles were created on her such as Bernarda Alba,(Adonis Daukajev), lead roles in new versions of Cinderella, Midsummer Night's Dream, Coppélia, Carmen, Swan Lake, Firebird (created by her Ballet Director Stefano Gianetti). Felicity also starred and performed in Operettas and Musicals such as, Die Fledermaus, Rocky Horror Picture Show, High Society, Jesus Christ Superstar and Aida (Elton John's muscial). There she continued choreographing as she had done in her previous companies and continued to receive excellent reviews. Felicity was privileged to be coached by the famous Giselle Roberge (former New York City Ballet and Hamburg Ballet) for her role as Odette/Odile in Swan Lake.
She has worked with and had lead roles created on her by World famous Choreographers such as Peter Martins, Twyla Tharp, Mats Ek, Lucinda Childs, Heinz Spoerli, Angelin Prejlocaj, Matthew Hart (former Royal Ballet now acclaimed Choreographer), Jocelyn Alizart, Kevin Haigen (Hamburg Ballet) and John Neumeier. Her classical repertoire includes, Odette-Odile/ Swan Lake, Tatiana/ Onegin, Kitri/ Don Q, Titania/ Midsummer Night’s Dream, Firebird, Giselle, Nutcracker, Cinderella, Carmen, Taming of the Shrew, Romeo & Juliet & Coppelia. Modern rep includes, Three Pieces, Black Cake, Polish Pieces, all by Hans van Manen of Nederlands Dans Theater and Vamos' modern works, such as, Carmina Burana, Miraculous Mandarin, Paganini, Othello also performed on tour in Europe and Scandinavia.
Awards have included Dancer of the Year, along with Stuttgart Ballet Principals, thanks to Tanznetz.de, Publikum’s Liebling Award, Best Leading Role Award (twice) from the Ballet Friends with Deutsche Oper am Rhein... also most recently, an award from the Bezirksverband Rheinland Pfalz for her many years of contribution as a dancer and choreographer, awarded by the German Government. She has been Guest Artist at leading Companies and danced at International Ballet Galas, dancing from New York to Beijing. Her successful choreographies have been from for e.g Charade, Twilight and Frankie and Johnny in Munich to more recent choreographies such as, Eine Nacht in Venedig, Abydos, Musical Musical, Homage to Ballet Russes, Ali Baba, Frank Sinatra Suite, Elvira Madigan and Homage to Abba, Chicago and Anton, a childrens Musical which have once again received top class reviews.
While studying in Berlin with the Royal Academy of Dance (during the PDPTC studies) Felicity was privileged to work with the famous Professor Martin Puttke who was incredibly inspiring. Vladimir Malakhov was also in Berlin as Ballet Director and Principal Artist. He was wonderful and he supported the RAD PDPTC programme.
Felicity is now happily settled back in Sydney and is enjoying teaching, choreographing, coaching and adjudicating. Felicity is also really enjoying bringing up her little daughter.