Introducing our new Corps de Ballet dancers

Japanese-born Nanami is experiencing Australia for the very first time after dancing at the State Opera Ruse in Bulgaria for the past 4 years.

What are you most looking forward to in this season’s repertoire?

All the pieces in this season’s repertoire are exciting, but Romeo and Juliet is a work I really love. I’ve never had the opportunity to dance it before, so I’m very excited. I’m also curious about dancing some of the new works I’ve never experienced before.

Have you been to Australia before? What’s something you’d like to see or do here?

 This is my first time coming to Australia, so the place I was most excited about was The Australian Ballet. Now that I’m here, I’m discovering so many opportunities to see different kinds of performances, so I’d like to go to a lot of musicals and live concerts. 

Who inspired you when you first started dancing?

 A friend of mine from kindergarten did ballet and I went to see her performance. When I saw Clara in The Nutcracker, I knew I wanted to be on that stage and I started ballet.

If you weren’t a dancer, what career would you have pursued?

 If I weren’t a ballet dancer, I’d love to try competing in the Olympics in some sport. It would be amazing to be on a stage that only comes every four years! More realistically, I’ve always been interested in making ballet costumes, so I think I might have gone that way.

It’s a full pirouette moment for Corps de Ballet dancer, Estelle, who’s now dancing alongside her idols Ako Kondo and Benedicte Bemet.

What are you most looking forward to in this season's repertoire?

I loved performing in Ballet Imperial for Signature Works, a remarkable piece by George Balanchine. The athleticism and precision that Balanchine demands are unlike anything else, and I am eager to challenge myself artistically and technically through this piece. I am also excited to perform in The Nutcracker, a timeless audience favourite that continues to captivate and inspire year after year.

Do you have a dream ballet or role to perform?

I would love to perform Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon one day. It is such an emotionally demanding ballet - raw, vulnerable, and profoundly human - while remaining eternally beautiful in its storytelling and choreography.

Who inspired you when you first started dancing?

It’s honestly crazy to me that I’m now dancing in the same room as the artists I grew up admiring, like Benedict Bemet and Ako Kondo. What once felt so far away has come full circle.

If you weren't a dancer, what career would you have pursued?

I’m passionate about nutrition and holistic medicine, alongside Pilates instruction and physiotherapy for dancers.

Sydney-born Isabella joins The Australian Ballet after seven years with the Birmingham Royal Ballet. 

What are you most looking forward to in this season's repertoire?

I’m most excited to be performing The Nutcracker this season. I’ve danced Sir Peter Wright’s version for the past seven years, so it will be fun to experience it with a new company. 

How are you coping with the Australian summer after so many years in the UK?

After years in the UK, it’s wonderful to be back in the sunshine, blue skies, and warm weather of Australia. 

Who inspired you when you first started dancing?

At age three, after watching the movie Centre Stage, I told my parents I was going to be a ballerina. By the time I started ballet at four, it wasn’t a specific dancer that inspired me, but I loved dancing along to the movie complete with outfit changes. As I grew older, I admired Darcey Bussell and Marianela Núñez for their strength, artistry, and grace on and off the stage. 

If you weren't a dancer, what career would you have pursued?

If I weren’t a dancer, I’d likely pursue a career in interior decorating or something else creative, as I’ve always had an interest in design and artistic expression.