By Ewen McRae
Christian Ambesi has worked with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Robbie Williams – and soon he’ll be notching up another career highlight to match, and even beat, those experiences.
The Caroline Springs 17-year-old is busy rehearsing for the new production of West Side Story after landing the key role of Baby John in the blockbuster production, which will run at Melbourne Arts Centre.
He said it was a dream come true to be part of something so big.
“I was really overwhelmed when I heard I’d landed the part,” he said.
“It was so unexpected … I’m so young, I just went into the audition process with nothing to lose.
“There were lots of tears from family when we found out – it’s definitely the highlight of my career so far.”
Christian has been working towards this moment for some time, after taking up dancing when he was four and continuing to follow his dreams regardless of the obstacles.
“The feeling it gave me when I dance is what inspired me to pursue it, and even from a young age I knew that dancing made me happy,” he said.
“It was a bit of an escape for me. Through primary school, I had some troubles, and the start of high school wasn’t great at all. Being a male dancer doing ballet and jazz was looked down on by some kids at school. But I always turned back to it because I could see where I wanted to be.”
Christian’s career took an upward turn at age 11 when he was involved in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Love Never Dies and then, a few years later, he got to work with UK superstar Robbie Williams on his 2014 tour.
While he loved both experiences, the chance to tour internationally as part of an acclaimed production is what he hopes will see him fulfill his dream of a career on New York’s Broadway stages.
“Performing on Broadway has been my dream for as long as I can remember, so this is a bit of a stepping stone. We do the shows in Melbourne in April, and then we tour to Germany, Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide and New Zealand.
“It’s a 10-month tour and I’m really looking forward to it.”
West Side Story will be at Melbourne Arts Centre from April 6-28. Tickets on sale now. Details: westsidestory.com.au
