Japanese-born ballet dancer Ako Kondo has been promoted to principal artist with The Australian Ballet and attributes her success to the intense training she received upon moving to Australia.
"In Japan, we don't have ballet school like here with the Australian Ballet School, so I had to go to normal primary school in the day and do ballet training at 7pm to 10pm. Here in Australia, I was doing full-time training, so I was getting really tired after eight hours," said Kondo.
"I think to be a ballet dancer, you need that full time training, so I'm very glad I got to come here and do the full time training."
Following acclaimed performances in La Bayadère and The Nutcracker, Australian Ballet Artistic Director David McAllister surprised Kondo with the news on stage at last night's performance of Giselle at the Sydney Opera House.
"Over the past few years, Ako has been consistently dancing all of the principal roles," said McAllister.
"Her debut as Baroness von Rothbart and Giselle this year showed a real blossoming of her interpretive skills. She has shown she can switch easily from lyrical to bravura repertoire."
It was a particularly special moment for Kondo, as her mother was sitting in the audience after flying from Japan just to see her perform.
"Giselle has been a really special ballet to my mum, I remember when I was little she was saying "Can you do Giselle?" Kondo said.
"When I told her I was casted for Giselle, my mum said "I'm going to see your Giselle", and she was in tears when she saw me for the first time."
The 24 year old began dancing ballet at the age of three, after her mother noticed her dancing around the house. In 2007, she moved to Australia after being awarded The Australian Ballet School Tuition Scholarship, and joined the Company in 2010.
Kondo now lives with her partner and fellow Principal Artist Chengwu Guo. She says Guo is an invaluable source of support for her.
"Sometimes I struggle in the ballet and Cheng, he is just really positive and is always pushing me, so it's really helpful to have him as a fellow principal artist and also as my life partner," she said.
Kondo, who danced her dream role of Kitri from Don Quixote in 2013 to critical acclaim, says she loves living in Australia, and sees herself living here for the foreseeable future.
"I love the people. When I first arrived, I just thought everyone was really kind and nice and lovely, and I still think so," she said.
"I'm feeling so honoured to be Principal Artist, and of course I feel a bit of pressure, but I can't wait for the next chapter."
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