Ako Kondo (近藤亜香, ''Kondo Ako'', born 1991) is a Japanese ballet dancer. She is a principal artist at The Australian Ballet.

Early life

Kondo was born in Nagoya, Japan. She began ballet classes when she was three. She attended normal school during the day and took ballet classes after school. In 2007, when she was 16, she was awarded a scholarship at Youth America Grand Prix and relocated to Australia to train

The Australian Ballet School The Australian Ballet School is the premier ballet training facility in Australia, located in Melbourne. History The Australian Ballet School was founded in 1964 as the primary training facility for The Australian Ballet by Dame Margaret Scot ...

, at the time she didn't speak English.

Career

Kondo toured The Dancers Company in 2008. In 2010, Kondo joined The Australian Ballet. In 2015, at age 24, she was promoted to Principal Artist on stage following her debut as the title role in ''

Giselle ''Giselle'' (; ), originally titled ''Giselle, ou les Wilis'' (, ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a romantic ballet (" ballet-pantomime") in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon, ...

''. In 2013, while she was a ''coryphée'', she made her debut as Kitri in '' Don Quixote''. She is the first Japanese Principal Artist of the company. She has danced roles such as the title role in '' Cinderella'' and Princess Aurora in '' The Sleeping Beauty''. Kondo had made guest appearances in China and Japan. On ''

'', ''

Bachtrack ''Bachtrack'' is a London-based international online music magazine which publishes listings of classical music, opera, ballet and dance, as well as reviews of these genres, interviews and general feature articles. History Bachtrack Ltd was r ...

'' praised Kondo's performance and wrote "it is rare to see a Giselle so able to combine the technical assurance of a dancer of Kondo’s experience with such fresh innocence of character. Even her musicality was youthful, lacing every sequence with fresh and surprising emotion." Reviewing Kondo's performance in Stanton Welch's '' Sylvia'', '' The Sydney Morning Herald'' noted that Kondo "creates a strong personality and dances exquisitely." In 2020, Kondo participated in Misty Copeland's fundraiser, Swans for Relief, by dancing '' The Swan'', in light of the impacts of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic on the dance community. The fund will go to participating dancers' companies and other related relief funds.

Selected repertoire

*Sylvia in Stanton Welch's '' Sylvia'' *Alice in '' Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' *''Infra'' *Aurora in '' The Sleeping Beauty'' *Swanilda in '' Coppélia'' *Odette/Odile in ''

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...

'' *Cinderella in '' Cinderella'' *Giselle in ''

'' *Lescaut's ''

Manon ''Manon'' () is an ''opéra comique'' in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel '' L'histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut'' by the Abbé Prévost. It was first ...

'' *Kitri in '' Don Quixote''

Personal life

In 2019, Kondo and Chengwu Guo, also a Principal Artist as the Australian Ballet, married in Japan. Kondo is currently learning Chinese.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kondo, Ako Japanese ballerinas Australian Ballet principal dancers Living people 1991 births 21st-century ballet dancers People from Nagoya Japanese expatriates in Australia Australian Ballet School alumni Prima ballerinas