Meet Principal Artist

Lana Jones

Mesmerising in execution MEDIA CULTURE

Introducing Lana

Lana Jones was born in Coffs Harbour but moved soon after to Canberra, where she commenced her ballet training at the Canberra Youth Ballet School. She moved to Melbourne in 1999 to attend The Australian Ballet School, graduating dux to join The Australian Ballet in 2002. In 2005 she was promoted to coryphée and won the Telstra Ballet Dancer Award, the highest accolade of its kind for Australian ballet dancers. Lana’s dancing has been critically acclaimed as “joyous and effervescent”, with one writer declaring her performance in George Balanchine’s Apollo as “supernatural”. Lana was promoted to principal artist in 2010.

Electrifying every time she comes on stage

DAILY TELEGRAPH

REPERTOIRE HIGHLIGHTS

  • Aurora in David McAllister's The Sleeping Beauty 2015
  • Odette and Baroness von Rothbart in Graeme Murphy’s Swan Lake 2015, 2012
  • Giselle in Maina Gielgud’s Giselle 2015
  • Manon in Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon 2014
  • George Balanchine’s Ballet Imperial 2014

REPERTOIRE HIGHLIGHTS

  • Odette/Odile in Stephen Baynes’ Swan Lake 2013
  • Kitri in Rudolf Nureyev’s Don Quixote 2013
  • Cinderella in Alexei Ratmansky’s Cinderella 2013
  • Jiří Kylián’s Bella Figura 2013
  • Pas de deux from Christopher Wheeldon’s After the Rain© 2011

You may not know

Lana loves photography, jet skiing and the beach, and has two dogs, Chloe and Rico.

Professional accolades

Awards
  • Lissa Black Scholarship 2010
  • Khitercs Hirai Foundation Scholarship 2009
  • Australian Dance Award for outstanding performance by a female dancer in Firebird 2009
  • Green Room Award for best female dancer in Firebird 2009
  • Helpmann Award for best female dancer in Firebird 2009
  • Helpmann Award for best female dancer in Forgotten Land 2006
  • Freda May Irving Scholarship 2006
Guest appearances
  • Cinderella Pas de deux, Northern Ballet Sapphire Gala 2015
  • Don Quixote Pas de deux, Singapore Dance Theatre 25th Anniversary Gala 2013
  • Fall for Dance Festival, New York 2011
  • George Balanchine’s Rubies, Hong Kong Ballet 2011
  • Grand pas classique, West Australian Ballet 40th Anniversary Gala 2010

Jones shows no fear on stage

Herald Sun