Outback teen trades riding boots for ballet shoes as she heads to Swiss dance school

A 16-year-old from outback Queensland is trading her riding boots for ballet shoes as she prepares to attend the prestigious Tanz Akademie Zurich in Switzerland.

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It's still a bit surreal, honestly. I always told myself this is what I want to do

Maddy Murphy, who grew up in the rural township of Julia Creek, pursued her passion for dance from a young age. Her mother, Belinda Murphy, enrolled her in a local dance studio when she was five. Maddy's teacher, Amy Tinning, recalled her "perseverance from a young age," noting her maturity and commitment.

As Julia Creek lacked a high school, Maddy moved over 1,600 kilometers south-west to Brisbane for boarding school at age 11. There, she continued her dance training at the Prima Youth Ballet Academy. A year later, she convinced her parents to let her dance full-time while completing her schooling through distance education.

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Talent can only take you so far, but Maddy had this maturity and commitment that isn't very common in someone so young

"I'd wake up, do some school, dance from nine till four, come home and do all my schoolwork and then do it all over again the next day," Maddy recalled. She described the experience as challenging, especially balancing dance with subjects like math. After the Prima Youth Ballet Academy closed in 2025, Maddy moved to Dance North in Sydney.

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I'd wake up, do some school, dance from nine till four, come home and do all my schoolwork and then do it all again the next day

Her dedication paid off when she won first place at the Brisbane International Contemporary Dance Prix, earning a scholarship to audition in Switzerland. "It was unlike anything I think I've ever experienced," she said of the audition process. Murphy will now embark on her studies at the Tanz Akademie Zurich, a dream she has long held.

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I just found this love for ballet because it's so hard. You have to make it look easy, but it's such a complex form of dance