Professional ballerina Dimity Azoury admits she has many pairs of critical eyes watching her every move most days - but none more critical than her own.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The 29-year-old dancer from Queanbeyan - she's the daughter of "baby whisperer" and obstetrician Dr John Azoury - says every morning she arrives at the Australian Ballet's Melbourne studio she's immediately self-critiquing.
"The biggest stresses are the ones you put on yourself," she says.
"Every day I go to work and I look at myself very critically and that's in terms of physically what I look like, and then I look at technically what I'm doing, and then I look at artistically what I'm doing.
"And that's how you start each day - trying to hone those things."
Azoury's muscular legs, arms and ability to balance on the edge of a railway track in pointe shoes for a Canberra Times photo shoot are evidence of her physical strength.
But the mental resilience required to be one of the nation's best ballerinas - including spending up to 40 hours in rehearsal each week as well as months on end travelling Australia and performing - is something Azoury works just as hard at.
She starts and ends her days "in the bush", walking her wolfhound, Gunther. She also loves mountain biking, hiking and "getting out to really switch off and breathe".
And, though it's taken time, she's learned to live with imperfection.
"You can finish a performance - and I often do - and I come off stage and think, 'I just loved that, that was absolutely wonderful' but that doesn't mean that it was perfect," Azoury says.
"I'm especially okay with the imperfection when I can go back the next night or my next show and try and fix those little things."
Azoury is performing the lead role in The Australian Ballet's new production of The Merry Widow, opening at Sydney Opera House later this month before arriving in Canberra in May. She's sharing the role of Hanna Glawari with another local dancer, Lana Jones.
It's a "surreal" moment for Azoury, given she lined up on a cold night outside Canberra Theatre in 2003 for Jones's autograph. Jones was then a young performer with The Australian Ballet and pretty much the envy of every aspiring ballerina in the capital, according to Azoury.
Jones is celebrating her 17th year with The Australian Ballet - "you can't just go up and dance anymore, you have to be really strong and conditioned and warm up and really take a lot of care with your body " - and can't wait to arrive in the capital next month so her little son Velasco can spend time with his Canberra-based grandparents.
At 16 months old, Velasco is already a natural performer - Jones's partner Daniel Gaudiello is a former dancer with The Australian Ballet - and her son's entrance into the world "literally changed everything" for Jones.
"The biggest difference for me since having a little one is just the vulnerability and how unstable you are and how emotionally open you are to everything," she says.
"I'm usually quite a stable person, and level, so it has been really interesting, my heart going in different directions and having to manage that."
Would she encourage her son Velasco into a career in dance?
"It's tough man, it's really hard and it looks like it's all glamorous and glitz and tiaras and bling but it's a lot - and it takes a very strong person," Jones says.
"I'm so glad I did it though, I feel like I've become a better person because of the training and the discipline and the motivation, and just having to deal with pressure ... being resilient.
"It's up to him - at least we have the contacts if he does want to become a dancer."
The Merry Widow, 25-30 May, Canberra Theatre Centre. For further information and tickets head to www.canberratheatrecentre.com.au
