What it's like to be a ballerina | Australian Traveller

Principal artist with the The Australian Ballet, Japanese-born Ako Kondo tells what it’s like to dance 200 shows a year and if there’s any Black Swan antics offstage.

I normally get up around 8:30am, because I have two toy poodles…

I eat breakfast with them, walk them and have chill time with them before I go to work.

If it’s not a performance day, work starts with a 10:30–11:45am warm-up class, where we do basic technical stuff, then I have a 15-minute break before rehearsal starts at 12pm.

It goes for two-and-a-half hours and you have to be focused since you have to learn new steps or do the reps for the next season. We have a lunch break from 2:30-3:45pm, during which I normally get a massage.

Rehearsal resumes at 3:45pm and we finish at 6:30pm. If it’s a performance day, we start at 11am and finish at 3pm.

We have a big break before the show, which starts at 7:30pm, but I have to get ready, so I normally go to the theatre at 6pm. There is a warm-up class again before the show.

The Australian Ballet does the most shows in the world…

So we have to make sure our bodies are healthy to keep going for 200 shows. We have a massage therapist and a physiotherapist; there’s always people looking after us. We have the best medical team.

Your mind and body has to be ready to rehearse…

We sometimes put five ballets together for rehearsal in one day. We always mix the reps, it’s not just one ballet. That’s why you have to be ready.

It takes a lot of energy and you need to be focused. At the moment we’re getting ready for a London tour; I’ll be performing Swan Lake and Cinderella, so we are rehearsing both of those ballets right now.

People see the costumes and beautiful dancing and think we’re not sweating…

But we are. I read an article that said ballet dancers work their bodies as much as footy players do.

That’s how we feel afterwards, we take ice baths after the shows. It does take a lot of energy and our bodies can be ruined by ballet; it’s tough.

But when we are onstage, we have to pretend it’s nothing. For example, if I do the black swan solo, when I come off stage I’m breathing like crazy, but the audience doesn’t see that. It’s our job to make it look effortless and beautiful.

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Our muscles work hard…

We use our lower legs a lot for en pointe and jumping. I put my legs, below my knees, in an ice bucket after a show; it’s really cold!

My legs ache a lot and feel really hot, but if I put them in an ice bath they cool down and recover well the next day; they don’t feel heavy. If I don’t do that, I’ve found my legs are quite dead the next day and I don’t feel fresh.

Last time I performed Swan Lake, I had four pairs of pointe shoes ready…

Sometimes when you put on brand-new pointe shoes they’re shocking.

They break in a bad way and when you go en pointe it just doesn’t feel right, so I always make sure I have at least four pairs ready, but just pick one. I normally go through one pair of pointe shoes per day and I give my old ones to young girls.

We do make-up and hair ourselves…

I’ve been doing it for a long time so it doesn’t take long anymore. It’s about 20 minutes to do my make-up and 10 minutes for my hair.

I change my make-up to get into character…

For Odette, the white swan in Swan Lake, I go for a pale look and I do the whitewash, which is a kind of pancake on my body. When I perform the black swan, I wear red lipstick and dark eyeshadow so I feel different.

The world of ballet isn’t like the movie Black Swan…

When I was training in Japan, I was doing ballet competitions and I felt everyone was quite competitive because we were trying to get the first prize.

But ballet is not about competition and when I came to Australia, it wasn’t like that. Everyone supports each other to make the best show. In our company, no one tries to compare with you; we are like a family. It’s just put on for the movies – it’s not that bad.

Recently, my best friend debuted as Odette…

Everyone was in the wings cheering – the whole company was supportive to make her performance perfect for her.

I’m a principal artist now, so my job is to provide the best performance but also to support young dancers who are getting big opportunities in the company.

I don’t keep a strict diet…

Some people do care about what they eat but my workload is hard, so I eat what I want to get energy. But I make sure I rehydrate; we sweat so much and don’t even realise.

I get nervous waiting in the wings…

Especially being Odette, the white swan, the first entrance is just myself in the middle of the stage with no music before I start dancing.

It is a scary moment, but when I hear the audience gasp or clap for me, I feel like the theatre is one piece and I feel the energy from the audience, and that helps.

Everyone is just there to watch the performance and they’re so excited. I just try to give my best performance for them.

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After the curtain falls, everyone just goes home…

With 200 shows a year, the cast is like: ‘OK, done. Let’s go home, sleep, next’. Everyone has to make sure they feel fresh for the next day.

I decided I wanted to be a professional ballerina when I was 13 years old…

I asked my ballet teacher how to do it.

She said if I really wanted to be a professional ballerina, then I should go overseas to attend a full-time ballet school.

In Japan, there aren’t any full-time schools like The Australian Ballet School or The Royal Ballet School.

I won a big ballet competition in Japan and was lucky enough to get a scholarship from The Australian Ballet School.

Ballet is tough and it’s hard work, but it’s worth it…

It was a big step to be apart from my family.

It was hard but I felt like it was worth it, because what I got from the school was just amazing. I’d never have that experience in Japan.

I was lucky all the hard work paid off and I got a contract from the Australian Ballet. If you keep working hard, at some point it will pay off.

I’ve been doing ballet for 22 years… since I was three years old…

It was always my first option.

But I like doing my make-up and hair for a performance, so if I wasn’t a ballerina I could see myself being a make-up artist or hair stylist.

MORE… See Ako in the Australian Ballet’s Nijinsky in Melbourne, and touring to Sydney and Adelaide.

Winding down in the Yarra Valley, where ‘work from home’ becomes ‘work from wine country’.

Steam from my morning coffee curls gently into the cool valley air, mist-veiled vineyards stretch out in neat rows below me. Magpies warble from trees, and the morning’s quiet carries the soft bleating of lambs from a nearby paddock. Midweek in the Yarra Valley has its own rhythm. It’s slower, quieter, with more empty tables at cafes and cellar doors, and walking trails I can claim all to myself. It’s as if the entire region takes a deep breath once the weekend crowd leaves.

walking trails in the Yarra Valley — You’ll find walking trails are less crowded during the week. (Image: Visit Victoria)

I haven’t come here for a holiday, but to do a little work somewhere other than my home office, where I spend too much time hunched over my desk. Deadlines still loom, meetings still happen, but with flexible work evolving from ‘work from home’ to ‘work from anywhere’, I’m swapping the view of my front yard to the vineyards.

A quiet afternoon at Yarra Valley Dairy

holding a glass of wine at Yarra Valley Dairy — Wine time at Yarra Valley Dairy, where you can enjoy a toastie or bagel in the cafe. (Image: Visit Victoria)

With the Yarra Valley just over an hour from the CBD, many Melburnians could drive here in their lunch break. I arrive late in the afternoon and am delighted to discover the Yarra Valley Dairy still open. On weekends, I’ve seen queues spilling out the door, but today there’s only one other couple inside. There’s no need to rush to secure a table; instead I browse the little store, shelves stacked with chutneys, spices, artisan biscuits and gorgeous crockery that would look right at home in my kitchen. It’s hard not to buy the lot.

a cheese tasting plate atYarra Valley Dairy — A cheese tasting plate at Yarra Valley Dairy.

I order a coffee and a small cheese platter, though the dairy has a full menu, and choose a wooden table with bentwood chairs by a wide window. The space feels part farm shed, part cosy café: corrugated iron ceiling, walls painted in muted tones and rustic furniture.

Outside, cows meander toward milking sheds. If pressed for time, there’s the option of quick cheese tastings – four samples for five dollars in five minutes – but today, I’m in no rush. I sip slowly, watching a grey sky settle over the paddock. Less than an hour ago I was hunched over my home-office desk, and now my racing mind has slowed to match the valley’s pace.

Checking in for vineyard views at Balgownie Estate

Restaurant 1309 at Balgownie Estate has views across the vines.

As my car rolls to a stop at Balgownie Estate, I’m quietly excited, and curious to see if my plan to work and play comes off. I’ve chosen a suite with a spacious living area and a separate bedroom so I can keep work away from a good night’s sleep. I could have booked a cosy cottage, complete with open fireplace, a comfy couch and a kettle for endless cups of tea, but as I am still here to get some work done, I opt for a place that takes care of everything. Dinner is served in Restaurant 1309, as is breakfast.

oysters at Restaurant 1309, Balgownie Estate — Oysters pair perfectly with a crisp white at Restaurant 1309.

On my first evening, instead of the usual walk about my neighbourhood, I stroll through the estate at an unhurried pace. There’s no need to rush – someone else is preparing my dinner after all. The walking trails offer beautiful sunsets, and it seems mobs of kangaroos enjoy the view, too. Many appear, grazing lazily on the hillside.

I wake to the call of birds and, after breakfast, with the mist still lingering over the vineyards, I watch two hot-air balloons silently drift above clouds. Perched on a hill, Balgownie Estate sits above the mist, leaving the valley below veiled white.

kangaroos in Yarra Valley — Spotting the locals on an evening walk. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Exploring the Yarra Valley on two wheels

the Yarra Valley vineyards — Swap your home office for a view of the vineyards. (Image: Visit Victoria/Cormac Hanrahan)

Perhaps because the Yarra Valley is relatively close to where I live, I’ve never considered exploring the area any way other than by car or on foot. And with a fear of heights, a hot-air balloon is firmly off the table. But when I discover I can hop on two wheels from the estate and cycle into Yarra Glen, I quickly realise it’s the perfect way to step away from my laptop and experience a different side of the region.

COG Bike offers pedal-assist e-bikes, and while the bike trail and paths into town aren’t particularly hilly, having an extra bit of ‘oomph’ means I can soak up the surroundings. Those lambs I heard calling early in the morning? I now find them at the paddock fence, sniffing my hands, perhaps hoping for food. Cows idle nearby, and at a fork in the bike path I turn left toward town.

It’s still morning, and the perfect time for a coffee break at The Vallie Store. If it were the afternoon, I’d likely turn right, in the direction of four wineries with cellar doors. The ride is about 15 kilometres return, but don’t let that put you off. Staying off the highway, the route takes you along quiet backroads where you catch glimpses of local life – farmers on tractors, weathered sheds, rows of vines and the kind of peaceful countryside you don’t see from the main road.

A detour to the Dandenong Ranges

legs hanging over the sides of the train, Puffing Billy Railway — The iconic Puffing Billy runs every day except Christmas Day.

The beauty of basing myself in the Yarra Valley is how close everything feels. In barely half an hour I’m in the Dandenong Ranges, swapping vineyards for towering mountain ash and fern-filled gullies. The small villages of Olinda and Sassafras burst with cosy teahouses, antique stores and boutiques selling clothing and handmade body care items.

I’m drawn to RJ Hamer Arboretum – Latin for ‘a place for trees’. Having grown up among tall trees, I’ve always taken comfort in their presence, so this visit feels like a return of sorts. A stroll along the trails offers a choice: wide open views across patchwork paddocks below, or shaded paths that lead you deeper into the quiet hush of the peaceful forest.

The following day, I settle into a quiet corner on the balcony of Paradise Valley Hotel in Clematis and soon hear Puffing Billy’s whistle and steady chuff as the steam train climbs towards town. Puffing Billy is one of Australia’s most beloved steam trains, running through the Dandenong Ranges on a narrow-gauge track. It’s famous for its open carriages where passengers can sit with their legs hanging over the sides as the train chugs through the forest. This is the perfect spot to wave to those on the train.

After my midweek break, I find my inbox still full and my to-do list not in the least shrunken, just shifted from one task to another. But I return to my home office feeling lighter, clearer and with a smug satisfaction I’d stolen back a little time for myself. A midweek wind-down made all the difference.

A traveller’s checklist

Staying there

Balgownie Estate offers everything from cellar door tastings to spa treatments and fine dining – all without leaving the property.

Playing there

the TarraWarra Museum of Art, Yarra Valley — Visit the TarraWarra Museum of Art. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Wander through Alowyn Gardens, including a stunning wisteria tunnel, then explore the collection of contemporary artworks at TarraWarra Museum of Art. Cycle the Yarra Valley with COG Bike to visit local wineries and cellar doors.

Eating and drinking there

Olinda Tea House offers an Asian-inspired high tea. Paradise Valley Hotel, Clematis has classic pub fare, while the iconic Yering Station offers wine tastings and a restaurant with seasonal dishes.

seasonal dishes at the restaurant inside Yering Station — The restaurant at Yering Station showcases the best produce of the Yarra Valley. (Image: Visit Victoria)

What it’s really like… to be a ballerina

Principal artist with the The Australian Ballet, Japanese-born Ako Kondo tells what it’s like to dance 200 shows a year and if there’s any Black Swan antics offstage.

The Australian Ballet does the most shows in the world…

Your mind and body has to be ready to rehearse…