Taking Tea with the Mad Hatter

I do! I started tap dancing at age three and studied it until I was 16. Ultimately, I chose to let it go when I attended ballet school full-time in London. Tap was always a great love of mine so it's amazing to get to use it in this iconic role.

I debuted as the Mad Hatter in 2019 at the QPAC in Brisbane. It was a wild experience. My family flew all the way from the United Kingdom to watch me. It was the first time they’d seen me dance with The Australian Ballet. I remember my magic trick in Act I didn't work, and I was so frustrated because I wanted everything to go smoothly so I could stay calm for the tea party in Act II. Anyway, that's showbiz! From that moment on, I learnt to ride the wave and stay calm, and I nailed the magic trick in my second show.

Usually in ballet we are told exactly what to do and the characters can be very limiting. I love playing the Mad Hatter because he’s a character that doesn't need to make perfect sense to other people, only to himself. In his world he is the star of the tea party and I love that he beats to the rhythm of his own drum. I also love the process of transforming into the character with the make-up and wig, sometimes I forget that the pink hair is actually a wig.

Lots! In a way, I’m another instrument adding to the orchestra, so I need to really listen and make sure my tap rhythms are the right tempo. We wear microphones in our pants, and the sound from our tap shoes gets projected into the auditorium. So, If I’m making the right sound, I can't actually hear it over the orchestra. This means I rely on muscle memory during performances, which takes a lot of practice.

It's not totally different. When learning ballet choreography, each step has its own rhythm, and it’s the same with tap. The difference with tap is that it’s a lot more obvious if you are out of time with the music.

I find it helpful to imagine how all the other characters in Wonderland see the Mad Hatter and what their relationship is with him. I think about how the March Hare, the Dormouse and Alice see him, and even how he sees himself. I interpret him as flamboyant, which isn’t dissimilar to myself. The part I find interesting about the Mad Hatter is that he doesn't think that he’s mad. It’s everyone outside the Wonderland world that has given him the name.

I think they have such a special relationship. Alice seems to idolise him, and he teaches Alice the importance of being herself. There is a moment in Act III where all the characters and cards are lined-up, wanting to escape with Alice back to the real world. Alice has to choose between the Knave and all her Wonderland friends. She pushes the Mad Hatter back, creating a domino effect that leads to the fall of Wonderland. During the seconds before she pushes the Hatter back, they look at each other as if they are saying goodbye. This moment is so heartbreaking for me as they both know they will never see each other again.

Not the top hat!! It’s actually really tricky to use it smoothly in the pas de deux. But I do love jumping off the Mad Hatter’s stage into the big sponge cake trampoline.

I’m in a unique position to answer this because I just danced the character of Bottom in The Dream, who dances en pointe. Both tap and pointe shoes have given me blisters, but I think if given the choice I would take tap shoes over pointe.

At the end of the Mad Hatter’s tea party scene my feet will be burning, (which is similar to dancing the role of Bottom) but then I’ll hear the applause and it’s honestly the best feeling.To me, the tapping is the Hatter’s voice, while he might not be able to articulate his thoughts with words, his personality shines through the tap dancing as an expression of his character.