Dancing around the world: Nicola Bolton is back in Shepparton after seven years dancing professionally overseas.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
From Shepparton, to Disneyland; from Disneyland to Royal Caribbean cruise ships. Nicola Bolton has lived a dancer’s dream, and the show’s not over yet.
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Currently recovering from an ACL injury at home, Ms Bolton caught up with The News to reflect on her career so far.
“I came home last year with COVID, and I started working at Kevin Hicks Real Estate for a few months,” she said.
Ms Bolton signed a contract in Singapore dancing for Royal Caribbean Cruises in November 2020, but it wasn’t long before she was back in Shepparton again, recovering from injury.
“I flew back home, and I’ve had surgery and now I’m in the recovery process,” she said.
“When the opportunity comes again to dance, I just want to be able to do it and not have to worry about my knee at all.”
At the beginning of her career, The News spoke to Ms Bolton after she moved to New York City to attend the prestigious American Musical and Dramatic Academy in 2014.
She began her working career in a Christmas show in America, before rounding out 15 months in the country.
“I’ve been dancing professionally overseas since 2014,” she said.
“I relocated to Japan and worked at Tokyo Disney for about 15 months.”
Performing during COVID-19: Ms Bolton was dancing on Royal Caribbean cruises during the pandemic.
After that, Ms Bolton accepted a position with Royal Caribbean, a company she has danced with for four years now.
As part of the company, she has been based out of Miami, Singapore, the United Kingdom and various locations in Europe.
Asked about the highlights of her career, she said travelling around the world as part of her job was one of the best perks.
“I really love travelling, and dancing on cruise ships was an awesome way to see the world,” she said.
“And to get paid, and to dance,” she said.
Eventually she hopes to get back on stage, but for now, Ms Bolton is happy being close to family.
She’ll begin teaching at Daphne Learoyd School of Dance next semester.
“It’s nice to be home with my family,” she said.
“When the time comes to dance again I’d love to, but it’s not as much of a priority.”
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