This month we interviewed the lovely Jill Ogai, a senior artist at the Australian Ballet. Jill graduated from The Australian Ballet School in 2011 and joined The Australian Ballet in 2012 as a member of the corps de ballet. She earnt her promotion to soloist in 2018, and then to senior artist in 2022. Along the way, Jill earnt herself the Telstra Ballet Dancer Rising Star Award. She has danced to a wide repertoire and has had stunning performances as Princess Florine in David McAllister’s The Sleeping Beauty, Clara in Peter Wright’s The Nutcracker, Countess Nordston in Yuri Possokhov’s Anna Karenina and many more.
In 3 words what does ballet mean to you?
Personal, joyful, art.
Favourite ballet to dance?
The Four Temperaments by George Balanchine. It’s stylish, physical and challenging. The steps are demanding, but if you commit to the style, the technical challenges unfold. It’s thrilling to dance!
Do you believe that ballet is a readily accessible art form?
Yes and no. I think ballet has become much more accessible via technology. There is so much ballet footage on the internet now, including high-quality classes and a rise in ballet companies streaming shows and rehearsals regularly. What makes ballet inaccessible is the fact that it is often only performed in capital cities, and the combination of travel costs and ticket costs makes it difficult for all aspiring young dancers and ballet lovers to access ballet in the theatre.
What is a typical misconception about ballet that you would like to set straight?
That there is one type of ‘ballet’. We spend hours working with different coaches for the different ballets we do because the style of each ballet is so different. I’m currently working on ‘Kunstkamer’ which is contemporary dance, so I do a lot of floor work, and my whole body moves completely differently from a classical ballet. Alongside this I’m rehearsing for ‘Harlequinade’ by Alexei Ratmansky, which is incredibly tricky pointework and requires absolute lightness and grace (the opposite of ‘Kunstkamer’). Nowadays ballet dancers are unbelievably versatile and adaptable, and it needs to be recognized.
What are you reading right now?
Love Stories by Trent Dalton. It’s such a heartwarming book.
1 thing that most people don’t know about you?
I am a twin.
Ballet without Borders aims to allow children from disadvantaged backgrounds to experience ballet- if you had ultimate power for a day what would you do to make this happen?
Build good theatres across more cities and towns in Australia. A good theatre means companies will visit, perform, do workshops and engage with the community first-hand.
Favourite ballet to watch?
Giselle and ‘Infra’ by Wayne McGregor. Giselle because it’s pure classicism, and it’s fascinating to watch different dancers take on the role of Giselle. Infra moves me so much every time I watch it. Such a beautiful meeting of choreography, set, design, music and intention.
If you could go back to a point in time in your life, what advice would you give yourself?
There are lots of things I could say, but I don’t think my past self would have listened. I think the best advice is learned for yourself, and only when you are ready for it. If anything I’d go back a few years and tell myself ‘everything will unfold as it is meant to’.
You have been given an elephant! You cannot sell it or give it away, what do you do?
Hope it’s a toy elephant I can put on my bedside table.