The image of the ethereal, wafer-thin ballet dancer is one we are accustomed to seeing, but is it hard to maintain? Do dancers let their hair down and have the odd chocolate biscuit or glass of red wine, or is it a life confined by nibbling on carrot sticks and nuts?
In her interview with The Carousel, Amber Scott takes us through the do’s and don’ts of a professional ballerina’s diet. The Australian Ballet principal artist has been performing with the company since 2001 and knows what works – and what doesn’t. Lollies are out (the burst of energy they give is followed by an energy low and affects concentration), three solid meals and healthy snacks are in. Amber kicks off her day with a large, nutritious meal of eggs, healthy fats like avocado and plenty of carbohydrates to see her through her long day of rehearsals and performance.
But given the physical rigours they subject their bodies to every day there is certainly room for dessert, and the odd glass of wine. “We’re working so hard, it’s really lucky we can indulge,” Amber tells interviewer Jane Albert.
Remarkably, for a profession that puts the spotlight so firmly on physicality and physical appearance, there are very few eating disorders among the 60-plus dancers of The Australian Ballet, and Amber tells us why.
Scott has performed around the world and guested with numerous international companies, including Royal New Zealand Ballet and Stuttgart Ballet and notes that international choreographers crave the opportunity of working on the dancers of the Australian Ballet, who are known for their athleticism and strength. A company like the Paris Opera Ballet, on the other hand, is remarkable for the extraordinary uniformity of the fine, super-petite physique of its ballerinas.
Interestingly, Amber’s diet and nutrition are often dictated by the production schedule. Performance nights demand a light, mid-afternoon dinner with a decent supper to follow. And who would have guessed that the repertoire itself has an effect on a dancer’s body shape – a classical ballet like Swan Lake, all willowy arms and slow, graceful postures, leaves the dancers with beautifully toned arms. A contemporary work such as Chroma (on stage now at the Victorian Arts Centre), with its rapid-fire movement and constant directional shifts, requires extraordinary fitness and strength and leaves dancers feeling super strong in the quads and calves.
For Scott, the variety and challenges are all part of the reason she derives such satisfaction and pleasure from life as a professional ballerina.
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Credits:
All performance vision and photographs courtesy of The Australian Ballet.
Swan Lake – Stephen Baynes
Suite en Blanc – Serge Lifar
After the Rain – Christopher Wheeldon
Molto Vivace – Stephen Baynes
CHROMA (2006)
Choreography: Wayne McGregor
Restager: Antoine Vereeken
Music: Joby Talbot and Jack White III
Costume design: Moritz Junge
Set design: John Pawson
Lighting design: Lucy Carter
Reproduced for The Australian Ballet by Simon Bennison
