Bunbury Cathedral Grammar School is excited to be working with former Principal Dancer for the Western Australian Ballet, Mr Matthew Lehmann. Currently the Assistant Rehearsal Director at the West Australian Ballet Company, Mr Lehmann has extensive experience in dance and a strong interest in helping aspiring athletes build their strength and conditioning.
Born in Melbourne, Mr Lehmann started training at Ballet Theatre Australia in 1999 and continued to develop his skills at The Australian Ballet School in 2002. 2005 saw Mr Lehmann perform for the first time with the West Australian Ballet in their season Dangerous Liaisons by Simon Dow.
After graduation Mr Lehmann moved to Canada to join Alberta Ballet and during his time there, he portrayed Tybalt and Velmont in Onegin and Dangerous Liaisons respectively. He also had the opportunity to perform in his favourite piece of Yukichi Hattori’s choreography, Tubular Bells.
After five years with the company, and a sideline participation in the Banff Professional Dance summer intensive program, Mr Lehmann moved to Perth to continue to grow as a dancer joining West Australian Ballet for their 2010 Gala season.
Aurèlien Scannella led Mr Lehmann to the height of his career when he was promoted to Principal dancer after the season of Onegin by John Cranko in 2013.
His portrayal of Onegin resulted in a nomination for most outstanding performance by a Male Dancer at the WA Dance Awards in 2014.
In his time with the Company, he has performed many lead roles in both classical and contemporary works by choreographers including Edward Clug, Itzik Galili, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Jiří Kylián, John Cranko, David Dawson, Garry Stewart, George Balanchine, Uwe Scholz, David Nixon, Youri Vámos, Claude Brumachon and Krzysztof Pastor.
The end of 2022 saw Mr Lehmann retiring from professional dance after 17 years. As well as being the current Assistant Rehearsal Director at the West Australian Ballet Company, Mr Lehmann also enjoys lecturing dance at the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), and teaching professional dance classes on the side.
