Bible vs ballet

Having one vocation in a lifetime can be challenging enough. What to do when you have two?
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The Australian Ballet’s Ella Havelka and Jake Mangakahia in Warumuk, photo by Jeff Busby.

Having achieved a major life goal, such as joining The Australian Ballet’s corps de ballet, there aren’t many people who would then turn around and ask for two years off in order to follow another passion. But that’s exactly what dancer Jake Mangakahia did, in order to honour his commitment to his faith.

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Richard Watts OAM is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, a Melbourne Fringe Festival Living Legend, and was awarded the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize in 2020. In 2021 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Green Room Awards Association. Most recently, Richard received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2024. Follow him on Twitter: @richardthewatts