Oscar Hunter, a former adolescent rugby athlete swapped tackles for toe shoes, securing himself a prized spot in a renowned ballet school in Italy, Fondazione For Dance, an establishment aligned with the Russian Ballet College. This chance arose barely a year and a half post his first ballet class and just weeks after being scouted at a festival in his home city of Belfast.
Hunter, who stands at 6 feet 4 inches, dreamt solely of representing Ireland in international rugby for most of his youth. Yet, his dreams have taken a surprising shift, symbolizing an extraordinary career change for the young athlete.
Now aged 18, Hunter abandoned rugby approximately four years ago, a culmination of repetitive concussions that dimmed his love for the game. His admission to no longer cherishing the game indicated the need for a fresh passion.
In his childhood, his love for rugby first blossomed when he was around seven or eight years old. One free weekend, his father took him to a local mini rugby club in Belfast, Cooke, where he instantaneously loved the game. In similar fashion to ballet, he recalls that rugby became his universe, desiring to play professionally in his adulthood.
Eventually, he attended Methodist College, known for its emphasis on rugby and played and relished the game for a considerable period. Regrettably, during his fourth year, he suffered a severe concussion, his seventh since his primary school years. This injury resulted in a hospital stay for 24 hours and a fortnight of bed rest.
Oscar found himself losing interest in his previous passion. He found the culture unpleasant, which gradually sapped the enjoyable aspect of it out of him.
Feeling a bit lost, Oscar spent two years exploring various sports. However, none seemed to spark his interest, despite his attempts at water polo, running, swimming, and football. It was his mother Siobhan, who believed her son had the perfect “ballet feet”, who suggested he try a nearby dance school.
Then, he took a gamble and enrolled in a class at High Points Youth Ballet school in Belfast, and since then he’s been training there continually.
“I recall my first attendance, at 7pm on a Tuesday evening. I was incredibly anxious. However, after that first session, I realised I had found a new passion: Ballet.
This passion for ballet came from nowhere. As Oscar recalled, if someone had asked him ten years, or even three years ago, if he would be moving to Italy to pursue ballet, he would have believed they had confused him for someone else.
Little did he know, this unexpected journey would begin when he was spotted at the Belfast International Ballet Festival by a professional dance teacher who visited Northern Ireland to conduct a masterclass. This teacher connected with the artistic director of the Fondazione academy, who then contacted Oscar’s ballet school in Belfast.
The academy director asked Oscar to submit a few videos and offered him the final spot for the academic year. Despite being relatively new to ballet, with only a year and a half of training under his belt, Oscar was invited to join the academy for two years.
This sudden invitation left Oscar in slight shock, but he was ecstatic about the opportunity.
Oscar, now preparing to leave for Italy, dreams of becoming a professional ballet dancer. After recently receiving his A Level results – an A and two Bs, he had originally intended to take a gap year, but quickly adjusted his plans when the unexpected invitation arrived from Genoa.
Initially, he made a humorous comment about aiming to survive until Christmas. However, his ultimate aspiration, after a couple of years, is to seek an audition for a ballet company either in Europe or the UK. He yearns to pursue ballet as a full-time career, get remunerated for it, and would consider himself immensely lucky if that opportunity arose, considering the highly competitive nature of the ballet industry, particularly for a late starter like him.
Yet, in essence, he wishes to revel in his present occupation. He confesses being content with his existing circumstances, knowing he’s giving it his best shot regardless of where he eventually lands.
Unfortunately, without the availability of financial assistance like a university student loan, and given that it’s now too late to apply for a bursary to join the ballet school in Genoa, Oscar has taken the initiative to establish a crowdfunding page online to cover his training costs in Italy.