Dancing has been Jill Ogai’s life, so in many ways it was a career chosen early on. She began dancing at four, and eventually graduated from The Australian Ballet School in 2011 and joined The Australian Ballet in 2012 as a member of the corps de ballet.
After recovering from a knee injury early in her career, she danced a wide range of repertoire and was promoted to coryphée in 2015. She became a soloist in 2018, senior artist in 2022 and, in 2023, was promoted to principal artist during the Swan Lake season.
She has just finished performing the principal role in Carmen for the Melbourne season, and will lead in Canberra in June. ArtsHub catches up with Ogai between rehearsals:
How would you describe what you do to a non-arts friend?
I work with choreographers and creatives to bring stories and themes to life through dance. I am interested in the beautiful physical expression that is ballet and dance, and many people are interested in seeing it. You should come.
What qualifications are required for this role?
I studied four years full-time at The Australian Ballet School, and graduated with an Advanced Diploma in dance. The obvious perk was honing technique for hours a day and being among such talented peers at a young age; however, subjects such as Dance History, Drama, Choreography and Music helped me develop a sense of the artist I wanted to become. They taught me the importance of curiosity, and to have a perspective on what dance can or should be.
How did you get started in your career?
In my final year at The Australian Ballet School I joined the Regional Touring arm of the Australian Ballet Company. It helped me develop the skills required to be a professional dancer (theatre rules, make-up, applying corrections and notes quickly, learning new roles quickly). It also gave the Director of the company an insight into the graduating year, and who might fit into The Australian Ballet Company. At the end of my final year, the Director at the time, David McAllister, offered me a job with The Australian Ballet Company, and I very happily accepted.
How collaborative is your job?
It’s always been collaborative, but in different ways as I have moved through the company. In the first half of my career I was doing more group dances, and that required a lot of teamwork to make sure everyone was on the same page, in sync and almost mirror images of each other. Now that I am a Principal Dancer, the collaboration is more about personal expression, combined with the intent of the choreographer. We do a lot of pre-existing work (some having existed for hundreds of years), and so a lot of the collaboration between my coach, choreographer and myself is in interpretation of a role. The questions we ask are ‘what is the essence of this character?’, ‘what is the character trying to say?’, ‘what qualities do I bring to the character and the choreography?’ and so on.
What are some challenges you face?
I think a lot of people face doubt and overthinking. As an artist I have realised often my first instincts are best, but my brain likes to try out the whole wheelhouse of possibilities before circling back to my instinct. Sometimes it works out really well and I gain a lot of depth in a role, and sometimes it creates self-doubt. So, as they say, go with your gut.
What does an average week look like for you?
An average performance week will look like a 9am warm-up and Pilates session, ballet class at 11am (for maintenance of technique and mind-body connection), rehearsals from 12.30 to 3pm, a break, make-up, hair and warm-up from 6pm to 7pm, show at 7.30, post show dinner around 10.30, lights out around 12am. Rinse and repeat until Sunday, which is our day off.
What’s the biggest misconception about your job?
I don’t think there are many misconceptions. I think a lot of people express how hard we must work, our discipline and that we must be as fit as athletes. That’s all true.
How competitive is this field?
In Australia there are three full-time ballet companies, and between them they employ about 180 dancers. On average I’d say five dancers retire from each company per year. So, you’re basically looking at 15 full-time ballet jobs available per year in Australia. At least 20 graduating dancers from each of the full-time ballet schools across Australia and New Zealand will be auditioning for them (I’d say approximately 100 dancers) plus international students and dancers with experience may be auditioning too (so add at least another 100 dancers). It’s very competitive.
If you were hiring for your role, what skills or qualities would you look for?
I would look for strong, well-rounded technique, an ability to apply notes and corrections, a personal style, curiosity and clear, respectful communication.
What changes are happening in your industry right now?
The shows that we’re performing and creating are much more current and cutting edge than they have been in the past. Ballet is often looked to for beauty, grace, tragedy, tradition, and pomp and circumstance etc. But ballet dancers are and have always been masters of expression; we marry physicality with sensitivity, emotion, thought and instinct. It’s fantastic that all this is being used not just for traditional ballets, but to bring stories and themes of great impact to audiences.
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What’s the most unexpected or unusual thing that has happened in your role?
I’ve become immune to the unexpected and unusual, because every day is always a bit unusual at the ballet. One of the coolest things that has happened is that when the company was dancing in LA, Patricia Kelly (Gene Kelly’s widow) came to a show and fell in love with the company. The next day we were at her house, and she was showing us all Gene’s archives. I held his first pair of tap shoes. That was just a very cool thing.
How does your industry approach gender balance and diversity?
At The Australian Ballet we have an amazing team called the Education and Outreach program. Their job is to go to schools and community centres across all of Australia and bring ballet to kids that may not get a chance to see the company perform, or even know anything about ballet. Ballet schools and companies are quite good at assisting and creating pathways for talented dancers, no matter their background, but ballet has to reach them first for them to develop a love and a passion for it. That’s why starting from the ground up as the Education and Outreach program does is so important.
Jill Ogai’s Principal Artist position is generously supported by the Dr Ian Wall AM and Dr Pamela Wall OAM South Australia Fund.
