Ako Kondo
Principal Artist
Ako Kondo
Ako was born in Nagoya, Japan in 1991. At three years old she began her training at the Shiho Kanazawa Ballet Studio. In 2005 Ako won second prize at the Japan Grand Prix, and in 2006 she studied at The Royal Ballet School’s International Summer School. In 2007 she was awarded The Australian Ballet School Tuition Scholarship, which was announced at the Youth America Grand Prix. Ako toured with The Dancers Company in 2008 and in 2010 joined The Australian Ballet. She was promoted to principal artist in April 2015 following her debut as Giselle, becoming The Australian Ballet's first Japanese principal artist.
Since joining The Australian Ballet, Ako has performed a variety of classical and contemporary works by choreographers such as Forsythe, McGregor, Murphy, Ratmansky and Wheeldon, and danced principal roles in ballets by choreographers such as Ashton, Balanchine, Lifar, MacMillan and Wright.
“An exceptionally fluent dancer”Sydney Morning Herald
Repertoire highlights
- Titania in Frederick Ashton’s The Dream, 2023
- Odette/Odile in Anne Woolliams’ Swan Lake, 2023
- Kitri in Rudolf Nureyev's Don Quixote, 2013, 2023
- Alice in Christopher Wheeldon's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland©, 2017
- Wayne McGregor's Infra, 2017
- Aurora in David McAllister's The Sleeping Beauty, 2017, 2015
- Swanilda in George Ogilvie and Peggy van Praagh's Coppélia, 2016
- Odette/Odile in Stephen Baynes' Swan Lake, 2016
- William Forsythe's In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, 2016
- Cinderella in Alexei Ratmansky's Cinderella, 2015
- Giselle in Maina Gielgud’s Giselle, 2015
- Lescaut’s Mistress in Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon, 2014
Professional accolades
Awards
- Helpmann Award for Best Female Dancer for Christopher Wheeldon's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland©, 2018
- Nomination for Australian Dance Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Dancer for Christopher Wheeldon's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland©, 2018
- Nomination for the Benois de la Danse for Alice in Christopher Wheeldon's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland©, 2017
- Australian Dance Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Dancer in George Ogilvie and Peggy van Praagh's Coppélia, 2016
- Telstra Ballet Dancer Award nominee, 2015, 2012
- Susan Morgan Scholarship, 2013
Guest appearances
- Fall for Dance Festival, 2014, 2012
- The Dancers Company tour, 2014, 2008
“A revelation ... poised and elegant” — The Age
Ako Kondo in Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux ©The George Balanchine Trust
You may not know
Ako is currently learning her third language, Chinese, and plans to learn more languages in the future.