Principal ballerina Benedicte Bemet's pre-show wellness rituals

She's as resilient as they come

She dances for a living. So we asked this Australian Ballet principal about resilience, strength and pre-show rituals.

You suffered a serious tendon injury in your ankle in 2017, which then took you a year to recover from. How did you overcome that setback – both physically and mentally?

It was really hard. I had to take a year off and, during that time, I delved into psychology and read a lot of books about resilience. One of the most powerful was Grit by Angela Duckworth. It’s all about the power of passion and perseverance. It taught me how to reframe my perspective on failing and to see it as an opportunity for growth. Prior to my injury, I was going down a slippery slope of trying to live up to other people’s expectations. Having that injury really forced me to step back and say to myself, “Benedicte, you love ballet, that is why you are here.” It helped me find my inner child who just loved to dance and I realised that, if I managed to overcome this injury, I would hold onto that and always remember how grateful I am to be able to dance. I think for the type of personality I am, I probably had to experience having it taken away for me to fully appreciate it.

You’re performing the character of Nightingale in Oscar, which opens at the Sydney Opera House this week. How have you approached the role?

This has been such an interesting role due to the physicality of the choreography. It sits between classical and contemporary. [For this performance] I’ve tried to tap into a quirky character, because I played a regal bird last year in Swan Lake, but I wanted to create this naive and slightly unusual bird as the Nightingale.

As a principal you’ve danced iconic roles like Odette in Swan Lake, Clara in The Nutcracker and Aurora in Sleeping Beauty. Do you have any rituals before taking to the stage?

I do. Honestly, I try not to, because then, before you know it, you can’t get on stage without doing everything exactly that way. These days, I will do a warm up and then make sure I find a really calm space and take a moment before I go on stage, so I can get myself in the physical and mental zone of the character I’m about to embody.

What’s something that you think people may not expect about life as a professional ballet dancer?

How much work we do. We’re often rehearsing two or three different ballets all day, and then we’ll perform at night. We change from performing one ballet to the next with perhaps two or three days in-between. I think people are probably surprised by how physically demanding the job is, and also how diverse it can be.

Dancers in The Australian Ballet often transition into roles within the company after they retire. While that’s still a long way off for you, have you considered yet what life beyond performing might look like?

I’m becoming more and more interested in mindset and psychology when it comes to performance, especially in elite high-pressure environments. So I’m thinking that, when I do retire from dancing, I may potentially want to go down that route. But then I also really enjoy coaching in the company. I’ve coached a couple of the younger dancers and have found that really rewarding. There’s also the possibility of whether I stay in the ballet world or have a fresh start. I could go either way, but I do think it will be something where I feel like I’m genuinely helping people, because that brings me a lot of joy.

You were promoted to a principal artist by the then artistic director of The Australian Ballet, David McCallister, in 2019 at just 24. How do you reflect on that moment now?

Two years prior to that, I had an injury that was quite serious, and had to have a year off during which time I thought I was going to have to retire. I kept padding along and working really hard and never really took a moment to breathe. When I got promoted, I was in shock; I couldn’t believe it had actually happened. I think it’s taken me up until this year to really process that and not feel a sense of imposter syndrome. Then to also come back after Covid and have a new artistic director [David Halberg] was really intimidating, but he has been incredible for my career and really empowered me to become the dancer I am today.

You have performed so many beloved ballets including Swan Lake, Giselle and Romeo and Juliet. What is a ballet you have not yet done but dream of dancing, and why?

Manon for sure, and we’re so lucky because the 2025 season was recently announced and we will be doing Manon! It’s just so beautiful and so tragic. It’s similar in that sentiment to Romeo and Juliet. It will be such a cathartic experience. The music is gorgeous and the choreography isn’t too tricky, so you can just tap into the heartache and get lost in the story without having to focus on a really technically challenging solo.

Originally published as Principal ballerina Benedicte Bemet's pre-show wellness rituals