Ballerina Jenna Roberts unveils class for Queensland Ballet Company Australian-born Royal Birmingham ballet principal Jenna Roberts is performing in Australia for the first time as a guest artist for the Queensland Ballet's "Elegance" season. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen Source: TheAustralian IT'S taken acclaimed Australian ballerina Jenna Roberts 14 years to make her professional homeland debut, but when she takes the stage with Queensland Ballet Company tomorrow night her family will be on the other side of the world. Roberts, who will guest star in QB's four-part Elegance program, is principal dancer at England's Birmingham Royal Ballet. After being accepted as a 16-year-old to London's Royal Ballet School, the young dancer's family packed up and moved with her from Newcastle NSW to the English capital. "The whole family came along," she said from Brisbane yesterday. They were happy at the time to make the change for my sister and me. Roberts' sister, Callie, was also accepted to the school, and later the Birmingham company, where the 24-year-old has risen to the position of First Artist. "Australia will always be home for us, but after being there for 14 years England is really a second home," Roberts says. Noting the recent retirement of Rockhampton-born Royal Ballet principal dancer Leanne Benjamin, Roberts says the glut of European companies are a great attraction to young dancers. "I guess the opportunities in Europe are so much greater than here in terms of numbers of companies," she says. Roberts will dance opposite former Australian Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet principal dancer Matthew Lawrence - to whose Prince she played Cinderella in his farewell performance at the English company - in Greg Horsman's Verdi Variations for the five-performance QB season. Despite rave reviews in her adopted homeland, Roberts concedes she is anxious about appearing on stage in Australia for the first time since she was a 15-year-old amateur. "It's a bit nerve-wracking being back home," she says. There's a bit of pressure, because people haven't seen me dance in this country for a long time. But I'm looking forward to it. QB artistic director Li Cunxin has brought together four choreographers for the program: Horsman (Verdi Variations); Ma Cong (Ershter Vals); Ben Stevenson (Three Preludes); and Gareth Belling (Sweet Beginnings). Cunxin says Elegance, which will also feature Texas Ballet Theater principal Carolyn Judson, is all part of the company's plan to expand its international reach. The company has a long history of collaborating with international artists and I'm thrilled our audiences will have the opportunity to enjoy the performances of these gifted people.