Bondi ballerina Jill Ogai centre stage in the Australian Ballet’s Imperial Suite

When Jill Ogai was just five and first saw Swan Lake, she knew she wanted to dance ballet.

When Jill Ogai was just five and first saw Swan Lake, she knew she wanted to dance ballet.

Sixteen years later the Bondi resident’s determination has led her to be a member of the prestigious­ Australian Ballet company­.

Ogai is part of the company’s performance of Imperial Suite at the Opera House this month.

The ballet comprises of two short one act ballets that highlight the strength of female ballet dancers­.

“The music is so important in both these ballets, and they are technically quite challenging,” Ogai said.

Ballet Imperial is choreographed by George Balanchine and was very athletic and dynamic, she said.

Australian Ballet dancers Jade Wood, Imogen Chapman, Jasmine Durham perfrom in Imperial Suite, now showing at the Sydney Opera House.

The dancers are dressed in elegan­t midnight-blue tutus and it’s set to Tchaikovsky’s music.

Joining The Australian Ballet is pianist Hoang Pham, who will perform Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 2, which features the world’s longest piano cadenza.

The second ballet Suite en blanc is choreographed by Frenchman Serge Lifar, so was more aloof and internal, Ogai said.

The ballerinas are dressed in snowy-white tutus and adorn symmetrical staircases,

“In Ballet Imperial you bare your soul on stage, but in Suite en blanc you seduce the audience a bit more.”

While her life of ballet has been challenging at times, Ogai’s her love of ballet meant it had never felt like a sacrifice.

“It has been such a clear path for me. It’s been hard and tough but at same time I kind of embrace that,” she said.

“There’s the moment when you’re onstage and your totally zoned in to each microsecond of the moment and totally present. That became very addictive.”

THE PERFORMANCE

WHAT: The Australian Ballet presents t he double bill Imperial Suite, which pairs George Balanchine’s Ballet Imperial with Serge Lifar’s Suite en blanc

WHERE: Sydney Opera House

WHEN: Nine performances between May 2-17

COST: From $36-$224

BOOKINGS: sydneyoperahouse.com