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Rachael Walsh received her early training from Maxine Lockwood in Mt. Gambier, South Australia. She went on to graduate from The Australian Ballet School in 1997 and joined Queensland Ballet in 1998. In 2002 she was promoted to Principal Dancer.
Rachael has had the opportunity to have numerous roles created on her in ballets by François Klaus, Natalie Weir, Paul Boyd, Young Soon Hue, Kim McCarthy, Stephen Baynes, Timothy Brown and John Utans. Some of her favourites include: Klaus`s Romeo and Juliet (Juliet), Carmen (title role), Cloudland (Christine), The Nutcracker (Clara), The Sleeping Beauty (Aurora), A Midsummer Night`s Dream (Titania/ Hypolyta), The Little Mermaid (Princess), Don Quixote (Street Dancer), Passion (Mary) and A Streetcar Named Desire (Blanche). Natalie Weir`s Petrushka (Ballerina), When Angels Weep (Isabella), Wuthering Heights (ghost of Catherine), The Gathering (solo). Paul Boyd`s Jekyll and Hyde (Emma), and featured roles in his ballets, The Blue Dress, Scotch on the Rocks, and A Twist of Broadway. Created on her also were featured roles in Kim McCarthy`s 19, Young Soon Hue`s Breath of an Angel, Timothy Brown`s Thread, and Stephen Baynes`s The Fold.
Other leading roles she has performed include Giselle and Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis in Giselle, Kitri in Don Quixote, Desdemona in Othello, Solveig in Peer Gynt, The Chosen One in Rite of Spring, and the title role in The Little Mermaid. Other memorable performances include Young Soon Hue`s Elle Chant, Valse Triste (solo), Stephan Thoss`s Swan Lake (white swan solo, 1st act party scene), The Four Seasons (Winter) and I could have danced all night (solo).
In 2000 Rachael choreographed Windows for the Company's E-Motion triple bill. In the same year she won the 4MBS/Perform Award for Dance. In 2004 she was awarded a Lord Mayor`s Young and Emerging Artist Fellowship that allowed her to travel to Spain, Germany France and The Netherlands for further study.
Rachael revisited Europe with the Company on international tours in 2006 and 2007, dancing to acclaim as Christine in Klaus`s Cloudland. Following the tour in 2007 Rachael was also invited to dance with Alex Wagner at The Asia-Pacific Ballet Festival in Seoul, Korea. They danced Chant D`Amour, a pas de deux created on the couple in 2006. Rachael also toured with the Company to Japan in April 2008 with The Little Mermaid and to Europe again in 2009 with Timeless Dances.
In 2009, Rachael performed in all of Queensland Ballet's productions, and cites Nils Christe's SYNC and Mario Schroeder's Strawberry Lips as two of her favourites. She was again named "Most Outstanding Dancer" in Dance Australia magazine's 2009 Critics Survey for her performances in A Streetcar Named Desire and Chant D'Amour (...with Attitude 2009).
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