After a decade of service, James struggled to adjust to life after war — then he found ballet

Former combat engineer James Wilfred-Derby never envisioned he would be swapping his combat boots for ballet shoes. "What I've been looking at is certainly how to improve quality of life … and I've been doing it through rhythmic movement," Lieutenant Colonel Maher said. "In ballet today, all of the classical positions — the now five positions — are all actually based on military drill," Lieutenant Colonel Maher said. Lieutenant Colonel Maher is waiting for a full examination of his research, while Queensland Ballet said it would require more funding if it keeps the program. "We're looking for funding specifically for the program to really give it a boost and that would be such an exciting space for us to take all this good work that we've established and help it run into the future," Queensland Ballet Master Matthew Lawrence said.