“Practice makes perfect, right?”
“No mum, perfect practice makes perfect.”
These were the words from then 13-year-old Edge Hill boy, Jules Chastre, to his mum, Jen Chastre, who along with husband Chris are the proprietors of the Edge Hill Post Office, repeating a mantra his gymnastics coach had drilled into his psyche.
“There is no doubt that gym coach got the best out of Jules. He taught him to have confidence in his abilities.
“That coach held the rope just that little bit further than Jules could reach – just enough of an incentive to try harder, train harder, in order to reach it.
“And, when that rope was reached, he’d move the rope just a little bit further away again. Before long, Jules was nine years old and doing double back saults off the high bar and earning national medals.”
So, we asked his mum, a person who knows him better than anyone else, how a child so young musters up the focus required to achieve such goals.
“I’m no psychologist,” Jen laughs. “I’m just his mum, and we’ve always tried to surround the kids with positive role models, mentors and generally great people. But I don’t actually think that has anything to do with it. I truly think that he was born with it!”
One day, that coach moved on, and although Jules persisted with his new coach for a while, it never was quite the same. Jules realised his passion for gymnastics had wained and turned his focus to the dance studio.
“And that is where our life began a whole new trajectory.”
Being a dance mum to a nine-year-old ballet loving boy made for some interesting times for the Chastre’s.
“Let’s just say, life would’ve probably been easier if Jules loved to kick a footy, shoot hoops or ride a wave,” Jen concedes.
Instead he negotiated his way around tutu-clad changerooms, filled with pink sequined costumes and black ballet flats. “That’s been our life since Jules’ first ballet class at the ripe old age of nine.”
Since then, Jen and Chris Chastre have watched their son pirouette across school quadrangles, plie to pick up his school bag or jete on a sandy beach.
Jen explains that Jules ignores the stereotypes to do what he loves doing. No doubt, that ability was a contributing factor for the invitation to Hong Kong, to train for six days under the guidance of one of the world’s most influential ballet instructors. During that trip, Jules managed to impress the artistic director of the Royal Ballet School that he was worthy of a full-time place at their London based school.
“How did this even happen?” Jen muses.
“One minute, he’s happily attending Turning Point Dance Studios here in Cairns a couple of times a week. And the next, he is living on the other side of the world, at just fourteen years of age.”
Jules has been training at the White Lodge School since September 2019 where he is attending Year 10 with 16 males and 18 females, all vying to become professional ballet dancers.
Each student trains three hours per day, six days a week. They do academics for another three hours a day, five days per week.
It’s a schedule that is certainly not for the faint-hearted.
COVID-19 has seen Jules return home to Cairns while adapting to the rigorous home-based training schedule.
This has been a welcome treat for Jules, who has been making the most of his unscheduled time in the tropics. “I wake up in the morning and drink my dad’s chai tea. I can ride my bike to my friend’s houses on the weekends.
I do hikes with my family, grow veggies and sometimes do Tik Toks with my sister. We swim in the pool and jump on the trampoline.”
It’s a far cry from the icy grass that crunches underfoot as he makes his way to the boarding school food hall in Richmond Park, London.
“The hardest part is being on my own all day while my parents go to work and my sister and friends go to school.
“When they eventually get home at 5:30 pm, I have to start my training and study, due to the time difference. I do zoom ballet classes from 6 pm-7:30 pm then my academics online with my teachers until 10 pm. It’s hard because I don’t have much quality time with my family during the week.”
But with all the sacrifices Jules is making, Jen says they are just so happy that he is home.
“There is not a day that goes by that we don’t appreciate seeing unmade beds or dirty clothes on the floor. We are making the most of having our son back and looking forward to planning his 15th birthday next month, all the while mentally preparing for the day he returns to London.
“One day, I know we will watch him perform at the Royal Opera House, home of the Royal Ballet,” Jen predicts as she beams with pride. “And how cool will that be? A real ‘Billy Elliot’ moment right there!”
