October 20th, 2026Ballet dancer’s grandmother’s painting gift

Jasmine Gruar was The Local’s front-page image for the August 1, 2022 edition.

The former Daylesford resident always knew she wanted to be a ballet dancer and her memories of dancing with her sister at home cemented that.

Jasmine told The Local at the time: “I remember dancing with my nan and mum at home. My sister and I would put on performances that we would copy from ballet dances and I enjoyed it so much I started classes and knew it was what I wanted to do when I was older.”

Jasmine began her training at Starz Dance Centre in Kyneton, taking on ballet, contemporary and jazz. It wasn’t long before she started competing in solo competitions with encouragement from her teacher.

“My biggest inspiration was my first teacher Miss Laura; she was fantastic and provided me with so many opportunities. I looked up to her so much and I’m still in contact with her to this day.”

At 14 she began training with Ballet Theatre Australia under the guidance of former Australian Ballet soloist Ben Davis. It was here Jasmine trained under a rigorous and fulfilling regime of classical ballet based on the Vaganova syllabus, contemporary, repertoire, character, pas de deux and acting.

She has completed her Australian Teachers of Dancing exams and has danced in many ballets such as The Nutcracker, Giselle, Coppelia and Sleeping Beauty.

Jasmine now teaches dance and movement to pre-schoolers in Melbourne at Magical Kindy Dancing.

And to celebrate her recent 21st birthday, grandmother Irene Mooney captured the front page in acrylics – and Jasmine was absolutely thrilled! Words: Donna Kelly | Images: Contributed August 1, 2022 Issue 259 Our youth on point The Local – The Heart of the Highlands